Local law enforcement calling on Yakima County for a new police radio system - KIMA CBS 29

Sheriff Robert Udell with the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office is calling for a change in the radio system law enforcement uses.

He says the current system is not as efficient as it should be, adding it is adequate for day-to-day operations, but is worried about what could happen in a larger situation such as a school shooting.

Sheriff Udell gave an example of when the system failed.

He says back in November 2019, there was a threat of a school shooting at West Valley High School.

First responders were only two to three miles from the school when communication fell apart.

Deputies found themselves unable to talk to firefighters efficiently and there was even a lag between the two dispatches involved.

Sheriff Udell says, “with a modern radio system- the officer, the firefighter just reaches up and talks. And that’s what we all wanna do, that’s the expectation of the people in the field. The people doing the work, the people out there helping people- they don’t wanna mess around with frequencies and try to- ‘where am I?’, ‘which frequency is gonna work today?’. It’s just pick up the radio and talk.”

He added that a lag in communication, particularly in situations where time is crucial, increases the element of risk.

source: https://kimatv.com/news/local/local-law-enforcement-calling-for-a-new-police-radio-system

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