Normal radio transmissions between patrol officers and police dispatchers were cut off for about 45 minutes islandwide yesterday morning when a computer component malfunctioned, police said.
Police said the problem occurred at about 10:30 a.m. when a computer card malfunctioned in the communications system. Troubleshooters were notified of the problem and were able to restore normal communications at 11:21 a.m., police said.
During the communications failure, dispatchers switched to a back-up, alternative system which enabled officers to communicate with their district station as well as with other officers, police said.
Alex Garcia, O‘ahu chairman of the State of Hawai‘i Organization of Police Officers, yesterday said he was informed about the malfunction by Assistant Chief Eugene Uemura and HPD radio engineer Myron Yamaki. Garcia said he was satisfied with the response by troubleshooters who were inside headquarters when the problem occurred.
Troubleshooters replaced the card twice before the system began working properly, Garcia said. He said the department experienced a similar problem in January 2000.
"It’s a hardware problem," Garcia said. "They’re working on that now. I know officers were inconvenienced. But (troubleshooters) did the best they could and reacted very fast."
Police declined immediate comment on whether there were any public-safety incidents or officer emergencies during the malfunction or if the faulty card was part of the multi-million dollar Ericsson radio system.
Since the system’s installation in 1998, officers have complained about "radio dead spots" and about unresponsive emergency buttons on portable radios.
On Jan. 18, 2000, two faulty computer boards disrupted police communications islandwide for more than six hours.
For several days in June 2000, unknown microwave interference disrupted police communications in the Central and Leeward Coast areas. The interference caused "fade-outs" and "loud sounds" on radio transmissions, making it difficult to understand radio messages.
On Sept. 21, 2000, SHOPO started a $50,000 media campaign shortly before the primary election to protest what it called an inadequate and unsafe radio system. The campaign was dropped after one day when Mayor Jeremy Harris assured SHOPO that officials would fix the problems.
City officials said the system upgrades would cost about $7.5 million and would include installing antennae in various locations including Lualualei Tower in Wai‘anae, Diamond Head and Ahuimanu.
