All DC Police Radios Down Citywide

[Subdivisions]

Fire, EMS crews using backup radio system
Updated: Tuesday, 30 Mar 2010, 12:06 AM EDT
Published : Monday, 29 Mar 2010, 8:26 PM EDT

By MYFOXDC STAFF/myfoxdc

WASHINGTON, D.C. - D.C. Police sources tell FOX 5 that radio communications are down citywide in the District, and police officers on the street have no way to receive or respond to calls via radio.

Sources tell FOX 5 that communication went down sometime around 7:15 p.m. on Monday night. That source also told FOX 5's Will Thomas that officers in the field have no way to respond to calls from dispatch via radio.

Some officers were returning to headquarters, and some were being asked to communicate by cell phone while the outage is investigated and repaired. The D.C. Office of Unified Communication is working on the issue, but there's no word what caused it.

Sources tell FOX 5 that it's possible the issue is related to a generator problem at the McMillan Drive facility.

By 10 p.m. Monday, radios were still down, but sources said the in-car computers used by officers were beginning to come back up.

...snip...

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/dc-police-radios-down-outage-032910


Edited to add link.

[DearAbby]

1. Bump for more information.........

[nilram]

4. It's okay, really. Not a problem.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/AR2010032904028.html

Key quotes:

"No cause could be determined for the sudden halt in radio transmissions, which began about 7:15 p.m. and continued late into the night."

"Just a minor inconvenience."

"Officials said that public safety was not jeopardized."

"Officials said that calls were still being taken by 911 operators"

[ShortnFiery]

7. Not just 911 Operators but also through the D.C. EMS channel?

But what the Hell, let's freak out? ;)

oh, here we go:

Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the D.C. fire and emergency medical services department, said the agency borrowed radio frequencies from Montgomery and Arlington counties.

Portable and mobile radios were also used, Piringer said. He said firetrucks and fire stations were equipped with computer terminals that could be used to send messages.

[Electric Monk]

2. Say what?

[Hawkeye-X]

3. Don't they have cellphones?

Radio isn't the only thing to use..

[Forkboy]

5. My crack dealer just said the same thing!

.....

[ShortnFiery]

6. That's incorrect: At least now, I'm listening to D.C. Police Department on my scanner.

:shrug: