[Scan-DC] Police unions file suit over county's new 911 system

[Alan Henney]

http://yorkdispatch.inyork.com/yd/local/ci_11610885

York Today

Police unions file suit over county's new 911 system

CARL LINDQUIST -- The York Dispatch
Updated: 02/02/2009 06:12:22 PM EST

A lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of law enforcement officers across
York County demands a return to the old 911 radio system while
glitches with the new system are fixed.
The lawsuit alleges that communication problems with York County's
new, $36 million 911 system are a public safety hazard and are putting
law enforcement officers at risk of injury or death. It also complains
of inadequate training and problems with a computer-based system used
to dispatch officers.

The lawsuit asks the court to prevent the county from continuing to
use the new 911 and dispatching system until the problems are resolved
and the proper training is provided.

County officials, meanwhile, say they are diligently working to
resolve the problems. Bistline said he believes the significant
problems should be fixed by next week.

Local police departments in stages were required to begin using the
new digital radio system last year in place of its analog predecessor,
according to the lawsuit.

The new system is part of an estimated $67.8 million 911 project that
also included the new 911 building in Springettsbury Township.

Union officers: The lawsuit was filed Monday afternoon against York
County and Emergency Services Executive Director Eric Bistline on
behalf of three Fraternal Order of Police lodges that together
represent every union law enforcement officer working in York County
except Pennsylvania State Police, said attorney Ed Paskey, who is
representing the plaintiffs.

State Police use their own radio system.

The lawsuit alleges that officers have experienced total communication
failures and garbled transmissions using both their car-mounted and
handheld radios. The lawsuit also alleges that officers have not
gotten adequate training to use the equipment.

"We understand technology is not infallible," Paskey said. "However,
the rate and severity of the circumstances is disturbing."

County officials have acknowledged problems, such as lost and garbled
transmissions, developed as more police departments began using the
new system. .

Close: Bistline said technicians are in the process of installing
software fixes in portable radios that seem to be resolving
communication issues in conjunction with software fixes made to the
main network.

M/A-COM, which developed the system, is working on software changes to
address problems where the car-mounted equipment "freezes," he said.

He expects problems with both pieces of equipment to be fixed across
the county by the end of next week.

County solicitor Mike Flannelly said he couldn't comment on the
lawsuit directly without seeing it first. But he said county officials
are working as hard as they can.

"Everybody regrets having these technical problems, no more so than
the county commissioners, I'm sure," he said. "They are frustrated and
unhappy with the current situation but we have to trust in Eric
Bistline and his staff that they are making the best possible
decisions for the safety of people in York County."

Once in good order, the new system will be far better than its
predecessor, he said.

Paskey said the new system cannot be a work in progress.

The police unions decided to file the lawsuit after because the county
has failed to provide any timetable for fixes to the new systems, he
said.

Union representatives asked during a Jan. 20 meeting to revert to the
old system, the lawsuit states, but the request was denied.

M/A-COM, which developed the system, acknowledged during the meeting
it had never installed this type of system in an area as large as York
County using the same bandwidth, according to the lawsuit.

Paskey said he's hoping the lawsuit stimulates new discussion with the
county. If that happens it would be up to the officers to drop the
lawsuit.

- Reach Carl Lindquist at 505-5432 or clindquist at yorkdispatch.com.