Dispatchers Recall Officer Shooting

A gunman shot three police officers last week in Pima County (Ariz.), wounding two and killing one, an incident recalled by sheriff’s dispatchers to a KVOA-TV reporter. The gunman was shooting from a car as he sped across Tucson, and dispatchers said citizens were sometimes their only source of information on the suspect’s location. The chase covered 20 miles and spanned one hour, and Tucson and Pima County law enforcement officers couldn’t communicate directly during the incident. Officials said the relays didn’t create any response problems for officers. Tucson PD uses a 150 MHz system, while Pima County SD has an 800 MHz trunked radio system. Public safety agencies in the region have plans for a $92 million unified communications system, but it won’t be finished until 2011. Read more and watch a TV report here.