Police admit they took too long in responding to toddlers on a second-story ledge
California police took responsibility and admitted that they did not prioritize the incident report where two unattended toddlers stood on a window ledge in a loft in Vallejo.
It took half an hour for the authorities to respond at the scene, and by then, the children had already gone inside and were declared safe.
Marianne Kearny-Brown spotted the toddlers from across her downtown office and recorded the entire incident.
She saw two young children in diapers outside the second-story window, and they appeared to be unattended by adults.
WATCH: Two toddlers in diapers were spotted standing out on a window ledge. Witnesses called the cops -- and now they're admitting they made a mistake in their response. https://t.co/1lyvWShhU9 (via @CBSNews) pic.twitter.com/4fbDpy2Yl7
— 48 Hours (@48hours) September 14, 2018
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The woman immediately called the police, but she said the dispatcher didn’t seem to have felt the urgency of the situation.
Reports from San Francisco’s local CBS revealed that Vallejo police arrived at 7:30 p.m., 30 minutes following Kearny-Brown’s call.
‘Where are the police?’ 911 callers wait as toddlers play on second-story ledge: On his way out of kung fu class Tuesday, 9-year-old Branson Thrower looked up and spotted a diaper-clad boy playing on a second-story window ledge, KTVU reported. “What I… https://t.co/m43ch3R3iW pic.twitter.com/Fpg9cmYwxI
— Forever Reem (@ForeverReem_1) September 13, 2018
According to Kearny-Brown, she said, “They said they were in the middle of a robbery or whatever.”
Speaking with the press, the police admitted they were at fault.
Vallejo Police Lt. Jason Potts said, “It appears the call was not prioritized. This type of call warrants an immediate response. We made some mistakes, and we’re going to fix it to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
CBS2-Frightening scene of toddlers wandering out on a ledge. Neighbors wonder what took police so long to respond. Info @11 @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/5BrvZzKK8t
— Pat Harvey (@Patharveynews) September 13, 2018
The police also claimed they have contacted the parents of the children and have been investigating the incident.
Kearny-Brown recalled that at the time, she felt that “help wasn’t going to be on the way.”
Minutes after she called 911, the children were already in a dangerous situation by standing too close to the edge.
Sorry, not good enough. Not only should the dispatcher have sent first responders with a ladder encase the children fell, they should have taken the children until the parents at investigated by child services.
— Kim (@Kimmer4444) September 14, 2018
With her growing concern, Kearny-Brown said she ran from her office towards the building to help in any way she could.
Around 7:15 p.m., the woman said she once again called the police but was told that there were allegedly no patrol cars available.
She said, “I was just kind of stunned. Something terrible could’ve happened.”
20 minutes after her first call, a fire truck arrived. Although, Kearny-Brown clarified that firefighters only came after a witness contacted her husband, who personally went to a fire station to ask for help.
By the time the firefighters responded, the children were already inside the loft.
In other news, the public was shocked when a police officer used a stun gun on an 87-year-old woman who was cutting flowers.
The police were reported to have misinterpreted her actions when she was only using her knife to cut some flowers that she needed for their meal at home.
Authorities claimed they had no choice but to use a stun gun when the non-English speaking woman refused to stand down.