Some first responders say new Pierce County 911 system has chronic problems; overseers say they're happy with it

  • Source: Tacoma News Tribune
  • Published: 02/05/2017 01:51 AM

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from Pierce County converged on Tacoma on Nov. 30 to help after police Officer Reginald “Jake” Gutierrez was shot. For the first time, the county’s year-old computer operation — a $5 million-plus system that helps dispatch the county’s 41 fire and law enforcement departments — was put to the test with a massive law enforcement response. And it froze. Officers on the call abandoned the laptop computers they use in their patrol cars to get the addresses of calls and to follow what’s happening at an emergency scene. Instead, they individually radioed dispatchers to communicate and receive information. ... The union head for three Pierce County fire departments that recently switched to the system says firefighters on his crew give up on their computer about once a day because of trouble with the system.



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