Renewed Calls For A Statewide Emergency Communication System

[GlacierClipper]

Renewed Calls For A Statewide Emergency Communication System
12-07-2005 5:13 AM

(Oklahoma City, OK) -- Department of Public Safety Commissioner Kevin Ward will be joined today by State Fire Marshal Robert Doke and State Senator Kenneth Corn at a news conference to discuss the need to improve the statewide emergency communications system. This happens five years after Trooper Matt Evans and Oklahoma City police Officer Jeff Rominger were killed in a fatal car crash while in pursuit on I-40 and Agnew. Corn has filed legislation named the Matt Evans Jeff Rominger Act, seeking to equip the state with the communications system which allows all agencies to talk to each other.


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[dstew67]

Interesting! I realize that this is a state-wide effort, but maybe they are figuring out that having the OKC EDACS system will still not be an improvement over the VHF system that is in place, at least as far as interoperability goes.

 

[Gilligan]

I was listening to a call the other day and was getting frustrated and worried about the divisions/departments not communicating together. A robbery call was somewhere around 23rd and penn and I heard Springlake, Hefner, and Will Rogers all get assigned to the call. I was wondering if all the units for the three divisions would be flying code 3 to the scene and have a head-on collision. It seems to me that the smart thing to do would have every dispatcher tell all units responding to the incident to switch to a mutual aid channel like channel 5 (158.73). Instead, each division conducted traffic only on their respective channel. They probably didn't even know that the other divisions had been assigned the call as well. I seriously wonder if we actually get some flexibility with the radio systems and set up mutual aid talkgroups, are our officers going to be so unaccustomed to "switching over" channels that they don't take advantage of the oppertunity? I rarely ever hear OKC say to switch to a common channel, yet most other departments I've monitored do it for every pursuit. Maybe once or twice in two years have I actually heard them switch over. And what if another high-priority emergency comes up and two are being conducted on the same channel? I think our officers are going to need some quality training on what their radios will be capable of and how they can best use them. For their own safety of course.

 

[fireant]

I feel even after all the talks about the Rominger incident that OKC has not learned everyone has Motorola and they go EDACS a Okc officer told me they did not want people with scanners to listen to them he got angry when I asked what do you have to hide.

fireant

 

[ttlradioman]

Okc

More than likely they did all know who was going to the call. If a Springlake unit gets dispatched to a Hefner call, then dispatch sends ALL of the officers enroute to the call a message that includes what units have been dispatched. The majority of the time they use their MDTs to look at calls for other officers. I ride-along a lot and you would be suprized how organized it is.

 

[dstew67]

Hey Gilligan, I was listening when that call went out. What happened is actually policy. When there is an armed robbery (or a couple other situations), the dispatcher for the division that the armed robbery is in will simulcast on all four division channels, but just for the initial call. All officers realize where the call is, and whether or not they are close and need to respond.

In this particular case, even though the armed robbery was in Will Rogers, there could've been a Hefner unit at 23rd and May, while the closest Will Rogers unit might be at 4th and Classen. Obviously the Hefner unit will get there first, and he probably realizes that there's a good chance for him to get there first.

In fact, there was a Hefner unit somewhere around 23rd and Portland. He switched to Will Rogers air and told that dispatcher that he was enroute, and to notify Hefner's dispatcher that he was on Will Rogers air.

The problem is when this happens intra-agency, like during the incredible chase Monday morning just after 2:00 AM. A capital patrol officer pulled a vehicle over on 23rd, just west of MLK. When he approached the vehicle, it took off. They were doing 90+ down 23rd to MacAurthur, then north to NW Expressway, then west past Sara Rd. The chase was so fast that they were at 23rd & Penn before the call went out on Will Rogers, passing Meridian before Hefner was notified, and it was until NW 50th and MacAurthur before any other units laid eyes on the pursuit, when a Warr Acres unit joined in. Finally, a Hefner unit who happened to be way west was able to set up stop sticks at NW Expressway and Sara Rd, where both the fugitive's and Capital Patrol's units got spiked. There was damage to the HP unit. No word on why the guy ran, but given the area it was most likely drugs, or possibly a warrant.

 

[WX5JCH]

Thank god! The tubes are wearing out on the radios out here, maybe there is hope yet.