LAS VEGAS -- When police officers face danger on duty, their communications with dispatchers can mean the difference between life and death.
After two years of complaints about dropped calls and dead spots, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is getting rid of its $42 million radio system.
The police department vowed to work out the bugs, but the costly radio system will soon be replaced.
The modern, 700-megahertz radio system, OpenSky, better known in Las Vegas as DesertSky, was supposed to be a high-tech wonder, boosting metro's radio coverage area from 87 to 98 percent valleywide.
But distorted audio became a familiar noise for officers trying to communicate with dispatch or fellow law enforcement.
Some officers said they?feared for their safety.
According to the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the system does not work and members are glad it is being replaced.
Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, who serves on Metro's Fiscal Affairs Committee, said he has heard complaints from officers about communications confusion.
"If you got an officer out there and it's a dead zone and they need to call for help and they can't get a help call out, it's extremely dangerous," he said.
Now that Metro is dropping DesertSky, Sisolak said he is worried $42 million went down the drain.
"If the system was advertised as one thing that's not performing the way they advertised it, I don't think the taxpayer should have the bear the brunt of that," Sisolak said.
In August 2011, Metro thought the bugs would be fixed once the new radio system was no longer routed through parts of the old system.
"I am confident that the system works for us now, and it will continue to improve as we move forward," Metro Capt. Herb Baker said at the time.
Other law enforcement agencies have also stated they have had trouble with OpenSky.
The manufacturer, Harris Corporation, said the radio system "performed perfectly" over New Year's Eve, even bragging "(Metro's) OpenSky radio system has all bets covered."
In a statement to 8 News NOW, Harris Corp. said it will continue to work with the police department to support their use of the DesertSky system.
"We recognize that each of our customers has unique requirements for their communications environment, and we remain fully committed to optimizing their experience and responding to their preferences for system operation," the company's statement said. "As the needs of LVMPD and Las Vegas evolve, the breadth of the Harris product portfolio ensures that LVMPD will be able to have the system capabilities it needs now and in the future."
Sisolak noted the investment comes at a time when Metro is facing a $46 million shortfall.
8 News NOW has learned that Metro working on building a new radio system that hasn't been plagued by problems in other cites.
Source: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/19947243/police-scrapping-42m-communications-system
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