Mathew King, a volunteer at the Denver Urban Gardens plot near East 16th Avenue and Yosemite Street in Aurora, called 911 shortly before 1 p.m. on Aug. 8 to report a man wrecking the garden. He called again as the damage spread. Newly released 911 recordings show a dispatcher eventually told him there was no officer available to send, and police did not arrive until about 4 p.m., more than three hours after the first call.
Beehives were smashed, cinder blocks broken and crops ripped out before officers got there, according to Denver7 Investigates, which obtained the calls and published them Oct. 27.
Three hours on the line from the garden
Denver7 first reported the wait in August, citing Aurora police records. The first 911 call came in at 12:57 p.m. and was classified as a Priority 3 “verbal disturbance.” Officers were dispatched at 3:48 p.m. and arrived about 4:00 p.m.
In the dispatch audio, a dispatcher can be heard relaying that multiple callers had reported the man damaging property and throwing rocks. King estimated the damage at roughly $2,500. “He just destroyed it,” he told the station…