Illinois Bumps Up False 911 Law, Now a Felony
The governor of Illinois has signed legislation that reclassifies the existing law against false 911 calls, making it a felony instead of a misdemeanor, which substantially increases the possible penalty. Gov. Pat Quinn said in a press release, “…
Motorola Signs Regional 700 MHz LTE Pact
By next year public safety agencies 10 counties surrounding San Francisco and San Jose will be connected by a 700 MHz LTE radio network, built using D Block spectrum that is otherwise tied up by legal and legislative restrictions. Yesterday Motorola an…
Murder Victim Found, 911 Call Questioned
Police who located a body in a Memphis (Tenn.) field on Wednesday say it is former pro basketball player Lorenzen Wright, and that he was killed by a gunshot. Police also revealed that was possibly Wright who dialed 911 on July 19th, the day he disappe…
Medical Studies Focus on CPR Effectiveness
Two new medical studies found that bystanders of a stranger’s cardiac arrest incident are more likely to perform CPR if it’s compressions-only, and doesn’t include rescue breathing. But the years-long U.S. and Sweden studies also conc…
Family Angry That Police Arrived, EMS Staged
When a 60 year-old Ocala (Fla.) woman fell unconscious at a family gathering, a relative dialed 911 and excitedly asked for help, eventually becoming angry and using several profanities during the call. The Marion County 911 dispatcher who fielded the …
Congress Questions Limited Source of Radio Gear
Public safety agencies have had to rely on “an exclusive or limited vendor pool for (radio) equipment and devices,” according to a Congressman’s letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking the commission to clarify th…
After Horrific Murders, Lawsuit Targets Delay
The family of three murder victims is suing the District of Columbia police department and its Office of Unified Communications (OUC), claiming they mishandled a 911 call from their apartment, and that officers waited over one-hour delay before breakin…
Lightning Strike Injures Dispatcher
A severe thunderstorm swept across Madison County (Ken.) in early May, unleashing a lightning strike that hit the county’s public safety communications center, jumped through the radio gear and into a dispatcher’s headset. County E911 direc…
Dispatcher Practicing for First-Pitch Toss
It’s been a long road for Alameda County (N. Calif.) Fire dispatcher Cristian Valle, ending tomorrow on the pitcher’s mound of the Oakland A’s home field to throw out the first pitch. As a former U.S. Army sergeant, Valle was selected…
Family Drops Claim in Wrongful Death Lawsuit
After two years of court action, the family of Wisconsin murder victim Brittany Zimmermann has dropped one claim from their lawsuit against Dane County and dispatcher Rita Gahagan, but continues to pursue other claims that a 911 call was mishandled. Zi…