Family upset after police respond late to 911 call

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A South DeKalb County family says it took a long time for police to respond to their 911 call this morning during a home burglary.

The homeowner on Duren Meadows Drive is retired from the military. While his wife grabbed the phone and called 911, Otea Burks grabbed his gun.

The Burks have outdoor security cameras, and were able to get video of the robbers pulling up to the home and then taking tires off the family SUV.

When the robbers hit the camera and shut it off, it set off an alarm that woke the family up.

"I had the gun like this and all of a sudden a head pops up and the gun is pointing at him. His eye gets big and that son of a gun went that way," said Burks.

At that point the robbers were scared off and left the tires behind. They also left behind their van.

The Burks were frustrated that it took at least 40 minutes for police to arrive. A police spokesperson said that is not the norm. He said normally the response would be within 10 minutes, but extra police were responding to a nearby officer calling for help after a suspect ran.

"I can understand that situation, but if it is that situation, why not say, you know, this situation is more important," said Burks.

The Burks are turning over their video of the robbers to help catch them. The Burks say a neighbor also recently had a burglary attempt at their home.

WSBTV