Posted by Jeff on 1/27/2008, 2:02 pm, in reply to "County to settle on 911 upgrade "
CARTER LAKE, Iowa -- Four Omaha-area law enforcement agencies are experiencing communication problems that occur when they respond to the same emergency, but can't talk to each other.
Police officers from Omaha, Council Bluffs and Carter Lake, plus deputies from the Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office, can't talk to each other on the same frequency when they go to emergencies.
Carter Lake Mayor Russ Kramer said his officers were in the firing line in 2006 when Robert Carter took Omaha police on a chase that ended in his city. Even though Carter had already fired at an Omaha officer, Carter Lake's force didn't know Carter was armed.
"My police officers had no indication the guy had been shooting, because there's absolutely no radio contact between Omaha police and Carter Lake police," Kramer said.
Carter later admitted and was convicted of the chase and shooting.
A month before Carter's chase, police said Freddie Chumley shot and killed Joanne Coon and tried to kill her boyfriend, C'Sean Vest.
"The Pott. County sheriff are behind the house," Kramer said. "My police officers are in front of the house, and the only way they can talk to each other is to step beside the house and yell down the side of the house. That's precious time wasted, and somebody's going to get killed and that's ridiculous."
"We have an antiquated system," said Pottawattamie County Supervisor Loren Knauss.
Knauss said that Motorola is building the county a new computerized communications system right now.
"This should have been online three years ago, but bureaucracy politics and egos got in the way of this problem," Knauss said.
Knauss said the new system got off the ground after the county took over the 911 center from the city of Council Bluffs.
"People will die if they can't communicate with one another," Knauss said.
Knauss and Kramer said they hope there isn't another high-speed chase or shooting death before the new system can go online, which is expected in a year at a cost of $17.5 million.
Knauss said he is hoping Pottawattamie County can build a new 911 center to replace where operators are now working at a cost of $8 million.
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