Marian Andrzejewski, 74, called 911 after two men broke into his Ottawa apartment in October 2010, robbed him and punched him repeatedly.
But instead of getting help, Andrzejewski was scolded by the dispatcher when he struggled to communicate in broken English and ended up in handcuffs himself when police finally arrived.
In a recording of the 911 call, the dispatcher is heard telling Andrzejewski, who fled his native Poland after the Nazi occupation, that she could not understand him.
Nervous and fumbling for words, Andrzejewski says "yes" several times throughout the call.
At one point the dispatcher says: "Quit saying yes. Stop it . . . No, no more yes."
When police officers arrived at the apartment building, the mother of one of Andrzejewski's attackers approached them and accused the senior of sexually assaulting her.
"The police accepted their stories as to what happened and my client was charged with sexual assault and forcible confinement," Andrzejewski's lawyer James Harbic told CTV Ottawa.
Harbic said he doesn't understand why police seemed to believe his client's accuser, who has a criminal record.
Because he had no family or friends in town who could bail him out, Andrzejewski spent 75 days in jail. A jury recently acquitted him of all charges.
Ottawa police now say they have launched a full review of Andrzejewski's 911 call.
"On initial review of that call, listening to it I do have some issues on the way that call was handled," Supt. Mike Flanagan said.
"I thought the 911 operator was very inappropriate," Harbic said. "Actually it was quite horrible."
He also questioned why the dispatcher did not use a readily available translation service to make sense of his client's frantic pleas for help.
Andrzejewski said he is relieved to be cleared of any wrongdoing and is glad to have his life back.
"I'm very happy," he said.
Original Article
Source: CTV
Author: CTVNews.ca Staff
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