Law enforcement agencies push Branstad for statewide radio system

DES MOINES - State, county and local law enforcement officers joined first responders Tuesday in pushing for a $68 million statewide interoperable radio system that would allow agencies to communicate in real time when dealing with emergency situations or planned events.

Thomas Lampe, a state Department of Public Safety official and chairman of the Iowa Statewide Interoperability Communications System Board, said law officers want Gov. Terry Branstad to sign legislation that includes the first $4 million to begin implementing a statewide platform.

Motorola was the winning lease bidder for a system that could be running as early as 2017.

Another board member Greg Allen said Iowa is lagging behind its seven bordering states in establishing a statewide radio communication platform that all law enforcement agencies can tap into.

The interoperable system would be the largest Iowa public safety project ever conducted and would allow interoperability communications among agencies on all levels during large events, when communication is critical to providing safety, backers said.

Several officers who were involved in responding to a 2012 Maynard bank robbery that resulted in a pursuit through three counties talked with reporters Tuesday about the hurdles they faced with antiquated and outdated communication systems and how having interoperable communication would have improved communication between the involved state and local agencies involved in the pursuit.

'The radio communication was horrible,” said Iowa State Patrol trooper Brian Bartels, a pilot working out of the patrol's Cedar Falls office who provided aerial information during the pursuit. 'Nobody knew what was going on on the ground.”

Bremer County Sheriff Dan Pickett said there was much static and confusion as up to 400 officers attempted to communicate via a system that could not handle or coordinate the traffic.

'It was very frustrating,” Pickett said. 'There was so much radio traffic going on you couldn't communicate.”

The funding mechanism for the upgraded radio system is included in House File 651, which awaits action by Branstad.

The bill also changes the allocation of moneys from the E-911 Emergency Communications Fund, which receives revenue from the E-911 surcharge on telephone services.

'Gov. Branstad understands the importance of having a modern, statewide radio network,” Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers said. 'He continues to review House File 651 and will act in the near future, before the July 6 deadline.”