'A lot can happen': Data shows CPD response time to CTA bus incidents on the rise
CHICAGO (CBS) -- CBS 2 was first to expose shocking video of a man breaking out the windows of a CTA bus with a chain.
The attack raises questions about the time it took police to respond. CBS 2'S Sabrina Franza has been digging into the data, tracking the numbers.
Since 2019, response time to silent alarms, the ones bus operators can press while they're driving a bus in an emergency have gone up and up.
"To the average person, it is unbelievable. That's the nature of our business, which strikes fear going into the warmer months," said Keith Hill, President of Local 241.
To the average passenger, this behavior is unacceptable.
"Terrified the whole bus."
A man swinging a padlock at a CTA bus, smashing the windows. Police later identified him as Benjamin Talavara. He was arrested and charged him with two felony counts of criminal damage to property.
Talavara is being held in jail for violating a separate charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon from a different incident after this one.
"Police is busy right now. They're understaffed, overworked."
Keith Hill represents bus operators, like the one driving the 66 bus on April 3. He said that driver used the silent alarm to call 911.
"There's glass on this side, there's glass in front of the driver. Glass actually got in the driver's eye," Hill said.
The time stamps in the videos show it took upwards of 10 minutes for police to show.
"That needs to be reduced," Hill said.
Digging into the numbers, between 2019 and 2022, the average response time to silent alarts increased. Nine minutes in 2019 to 14 minutes on calls recorded between January and July of last year.
"A lot can happen. A lot of bad things can happen within that 14 minutes," lamented Hill.
But a lot of that response data is missing. Blanks left where times should be recorded over 50% of the time.
"We see half of the time police do not mark that they arrived at a scene. Why is that a problem," asked Hill.
"Sentiments from my membership they didn't show. If you push the silent alarm, you're saying 50% percent I'm saying 25% sentiment is, they didn't show."
CBS 2 asked CPD for a response. The department previously said it continuously working with CTA to address public safety. At Local 241, the union president is working to set up at time to speak with Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson to bring up this issue.
