Milwaukee 911 delay: 99-year-old woman seriously injured, recovering

An attorney representing the 99-year-old woman who was beaten inside of her Milwaukee home provided the first update on her condition since that attack. It is brutal. It's the same case that led to an investigation at the city's Department of Emergency Communications over the handling of the 911 calls in this case. Sam Kramer is here with what we learned today, Sam, and what we still don't know. Hi there, Ben and Mary. Attorney Chris McGillis identified the woman only by her first name, which is Shirley. He provided photos showing the extent of her injuries, and we want to warn you, they are graphic. Some of you may find them disturbing. We're going to show them to you in about 30 seconds so you can understand the severity of what happened. But first, here's McGillis talking about the life she lived beforehand. 99, but vibrant, loved life. Was living independently, was fiercely independent. Was still living at home and enjoyed her freedom, enjoyed her mobility, enjoyed her ability to live. And now we're left dealing with the tragedy that we find ourselves in. This is what Shirley looked like before that attack. McGillis says these photos were taken shortly after Shirley was beaten by a drunk man on July 27th. He says she suffered facial fractures, blunt force trauma, and cuts so severe she needed more than 100 stitches and underwent several surgeries. She spent about nine days in the hospital. McGillis says Shirley is now limited to a wheelchair and receiving treatment at an acute rehab center. The family does believe she may need long-term care as well. Now, as for the investigation, the law firm says it too is waiting for information from the city's Department of Emergency Communications. The department planned to release details at a press conference it called a week ago, but didn't because of open records laws that give the employees involved the right to respond. We know two call takers that took the first two 911 calls resigned in lieu of termination. Right now, McGillis isn't saying what legal action Shirley's family will take, but he does say they believe there's enough for a federal claim here. We want to get access to information. So we want transparency. We want to see the investigative file from the city. We want to have a conversation with the city. But we want to make sure that the city's accepting responsibility and acknowledging what has happened here. I reached out to the mayor's office, city attorney, the DEC, and Alders for reaction tonight. A mayor spokesman sent us this statement calling the attack horrific and said, our thoughts go out to the victim. Now, with a lawsuit likely coming and the city attorney also being involved now, city officials, they aren't saying much else. We do know the police and fire, the fire and police commission will hear an update from the DEC on its investigation tomorrow, but that update will come in executive session, which is closed to the public. Ben, I hope she's resting, but we're all thinking about that poor woman's life, man. Just the strength that she had, though, to crawl and call 911 herself. What does that tell you about her? And we're all hoping for a speedy recovery. It is. And we'll keep digging for information as well.