MILWAUKEE — A 99-year-old Milwaukee woman who was brutally attacked inside her home remains in a rehabilitation facility months later, and her attorneys say multiple dispatcher errors that delayed emergency response by nearly three hours could lead to a lawsuit against the city.
Watch Steve Chamraz's report in the video player below:
Shirley's attorneys say she may never walk on her own again following the July attack.
"She's immobilized, her mobility is difficult, she's had surgeries. Her ability to do basic things we all take for granted has been compromised," her attorney said.
City records show the first emergency call came from Shirley's medical alert system into dispatch at 5:16 a.m. the morning of the attack. A dispatcher misclassified that call with a lower priority level. Even under that lower classification, officers were expected to respond within 15 minutes.
Officers did not respond until Shirley crawled to the phone and dialed 911 herself — nearly 3 hours later.
Her attorneys say documents they have gathered show known failures in training and supervision within Milwaukee's 911 system.
"The call was misclassified, it wasn't prioritized and the call wasn't updated after the city got updated information," attorney Chris MacGillis said.
MacGillis pointed to a Milwaukee Emergency Communications order released two months before the attack that identified an ongoing issue with inaccurate call classifications — the same type of failure Shirley encountered.
"We know in May of 2026, two months before this happened, there were identified problems of the exact same issue Shirley had to face. What did they do? How could this even happen?" MacGillis said.
MacGillis said his client wants the city to compensate her for her injuries and make real, lasting changes to prevent this from happening again.
Two call takers resigned following the incident. A third remained on staff and was retrained.
The suspect, Joseph Macias, is charged with three felonies, including battery to an elderly person. He remains in the Milwaukee County Jail.
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