18 Years After Sept. 11, Critical Incidents Still Overload Emergency Radios
After the chaos of terrorist attacks, the U.S. spent billions to update first responder radio systems. But the newer gear can still be overwhelmed — as it was in the school shooting in Parkland, Fla.
If you go back and listen to the recording of the Broward County radio dispatch system, you can hear the frustration the voices of police.
"I can't transmit for some reason," says one officer. Other first responders echo the complaint.
"Just so you know, we're having trouble transmitting," says another person, and more than once, you hear a general plea for users to limit their communications to "10-33 calls" — radio code for an emergency.
"All cities, all radios be advised to keep your traffic to a minimum. With each transmission, it's causing it to crash, it's overloaded right now, per Motorola."
