Man arrested after firing shots to get police to respond to theft

March 2, 2010

A 32-year-old Milwaukee man fired shots in the air in an effort to get a faster response from police for a theft he reported early Sunday morning.

According to Wauwatosa police:

Several residents reported hearing three or four shots fired and seeing several men on the street in the 2700 block of North 76th Street about 5:30 a.m. Wauwatosa police responded to the scene and learned he had called Milwaukee Police Department at 2:30 a.m. to report a theft.

He called back more than a dozen times, angry about the time it was taking to respond to his call, and told the dispatcher that if he went outside and fired shots, police would how up faster.

Police went to the man's home in the 2900 block of North 81st Street to take his complaint and investigate the shootings. He had a black semiautomatic handgun out in the open. He was also drunk with a blood-alcohol content of 0.17.

He told officers he and a friend had met women at a Milwaukee bar that night and invited them back to his home. While he was out of the room for awhile, the women disappeared and his laptop computer and car were gone.

On his first call to 911, the man was told that since the theft had already happened, there was no imminent threat of harm and an officer would respond when one became available.

The man was arrested for endangering safety by possession of a dangerous weapon, use of a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.

He is sitting in Milwaukee County Jail and the district attorney is expected to issue charges.

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