But what you need to know is that they, too, are citizens of Cleveland due to the residency rule. So they are well aware that the relationship between the public and the police department has slowly and painfully deteriorated from a partnership against crime to a standoff, with neither side winning.
Citizens have a right to a prompt response.
The citizens also have a right, as well as a responsibility, to educate themselves on how the city's emergency services work. When citizens don't understand how the system works, they cannot convey correct information to the emergency dispatcher. For that reason, officers tend to frown on misinformation as much as a lack of information. And when things go wrong, as in your case, the dispatcher becomes the fall guy. When the sixth district has a large number of assignments waiting to be dispatched, and let's say five to six of them are high-priority, the dispatcher is given five cars to take these assignments.