Winnipeg store owner says 9-1-1 operator was skeptical, reluctant to dispatch cops to active robbery

A Winnipeg business owner says it took police officers far too long to respond to an active break-in and robbery at his store.

Matt Bialek, the co-owner of Red Bomb Fireworks, says it took police 40 minutes to arrive after the 9-1-1 call was placed.
Winnipeg police disagree, saying it only took 22 minutes.

“When you have a 40-minute wait on dispatching emergency services, there is a lot that can happen in 40 minutes,” said Bialek, who reached out to CityNews to share his story. “There is a lot that can happen in 60 seconds.”

Bialek says the robbery took place in the middle of the day last Friday at his downtown store.

A man allegedly triggered an alarm attempting to enter a locked side door of the store. Bialek says the man then came through the front entrance and lunged multiple times at a staff member, who was able to escape to a locked room in the back of the store.

Bialek says his cell phone notified him immediately when the alarm was triggered, and he called 9-1-1 from his rural location.

“Unfortunately, the operator of 9-1-1 did not believe I was a legitimate caller,” he said. “So we wound up attempting to convince them for multiple minutes that I was a legitimate caller.”

Bialek says because he didn’t call 9-1-1 from the store where the crime was in progress, the dispatcher didn’t believe him and was reluctant to send police.

The store owner says he used some extremely strong language to finally convince the person on the other end of the line the crime was real and to send help immediately.

While trying to explain the severity of the situation to the dispatcher, Bialek says he watched the suspect on a CCTV feed stroll around the store, rifle through the cash tills, and rip phonelines out of the wall to stop anyone in the store calling out for help.

Finally, the dispatcher said police were on the way. Bialek it still took officers 40 minutes to arrive from that point, giving the suspect plenty of time to leave the way he came in and walk away.

“We waited 40 minutes for an active response to an active robbery,” said Bialek. “I’m in disbelief.”

Damage to the store was minimal and the suspect only made off with around $100.

Bialek was thankful his employee remembered her lockdown emergency training and was quick to escape to the secure room in the back of the store to avoid a possible injury.

“We don’t want sympathy, that’s not why we’re talking to the media. We want action,” said Bialek. “We have multiple facilities throughout the province and we’ve noticed that the crime is just getting out of hand.”

CityNews requested an interview with the Winnipeg Police Service but an interview was not provided.

Bialek says this experience is another indication that the Winnipeg policing model needs to change. But he sympathizes with front-line officers who appear to be getting asked to do more with less each year.

“There has to be a real solid look top to bottom at where the dollars are going, how we can best spend them, and improve the response,” he said. “Forty minutes is not acceptable.”

Bialek reached out to CityNews to share his story. You can share yours here.