Judge Tosses Lawsuit over Digital 9-1-1 System
By Jeff Frantz, The Evening Sun
York County, Pa. — A judge has thrown out a lawsuit that sought to make York County, Pa., stop using its $36 million digital 911 radio communication system.
In his ruling Monday, Common Pleas Court President Judge Richard Renn said three police unions had valid complaints about the system, which the unions said loses or garbles too many communications. Still, Renn wrote, state law requires the county to create and maintain an emergency communications system but does not have requirements about how to operate it.
“How to do so is subject to (the county’s) broad discretion,” Renn wrote.
“At most, the (unions) have advanced a number of current concerns or complaints, which we accept as true and of major concern to the (unions) for purposes of this opinion, all of which implicate the discretion aspect of deploying a new, comprehensive emergency communication system.”
The three unions — York County Fraternal Order of Police, Hanover FOP and White Rose FOP — sued in February 2009, three months after the county switched from an analog radio system to a digital one. Officers soon reported problems with the system, but when asked, they were told they could not return to the old analog radios.
County solicitor Mike Flannelly said Renn’s decision was what the county expected. Eric Bistline, executive director of the York County Department of Emergency Services, said the county and Harris Corp. have significantly improved the system during the time Renn reviewed the lawsuit.
“We’re getting very few trouble reports from field users,” said Bistline, who was named as a defendant in the suit. “When we do get them, we look into them.”
The unions agree, to a point.
“I think it’s safe to say the system is better than when we filed the lawsuit,” said Matt Emig, the president of the York County FOP. “But officers have had many complaints we’ve detailed in the year-and-a-half since the change over.”
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By Jeff Frantz, The Evening Sun — York County, Pa. — A judge has thrown out a lawsuit that sought to make York County, Pa., stop using its $36 million digital 911 radio communication system.
In his ruling Monday, Common Pleas Court President Judge Richard Renn said three police unions had valid complaints about the system, which the unions said loses or garbles too many communications. Still, Renn wrote, state law requires the county to create and maintain an emergency communications system but does not have requirements about how to operate it.
“How to do so is subject to (the county’s) broad discretion,” Renn wrote.
“At most, the (unions) have advanced a number of current concerns or complaints, which we accept as true and of major concern to the (unions) for purposes of this opinion, all of which implicate the discretion aspect of deploying a new, comprehensive emergency communication system.”
The three unions — York County Fraternal Order of Police, Hanover FOP and White Rose FOP — sued in February 2009, three months after the county switched from an analog radio system to a digital one. Officers soon reported problems with the system, but when asked, they were told they could not return to the old analog radios.
County solicitor Mike Flannelly said Renn’s decision was what the county expected. Eric Bistline, executive director of the York County Department of Emergency Services, said the county and Harris Corp. have significantly improved the system during the time Renn reviewed the lawsuit.
“We’re getting very few trouble reports from field users,” said Bistline, who was named as a defendant in the suit. “When we do get them, we look into them.”
The unions agree, to a point.
“I think it’s safe to say the system is better than when we filed the lawsuit,” said Matt Emig, the president of the York County FOP. “But officers have had many complaints we’ve detailed in the year-and-a-half since the change over.”
