Secret study: Houston's emergency radio system puts citizens, emergency crews at risk

05:35 PM CST on Thursday, February 10, 2005

By Mark Greenblatt / 11 News Defenders

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The 11 News Defenders are revealing why help from the police or fire departments could come too late when every second counts. Houston officials don't want you to know about the massive problem.

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The SWISS study says the city's system has dead spots where police or firemen can't receive or transmit a call for help.

It's all about trouble with the city's radios -- radios that police and firefighters use to save your life.

The trouble was found in a study taxpayers paid for, but the city wouldn't give 11 News. So we dug up our own copy.

Tom Nixon remembers the day. "He ran right in front of my patrol car," he said.

"He" was Ronald Johnson -- 6 feet tall with a long criminal record who had just stolen a shot gun.

"So I jump out of my patrol car," said Nixon who pursued Johnson up a driveway.

"I chase the subject behind the house," Nixon said.

But then the suspect ran and jumped over the back fence leaving Nixon with a question of safety.

Reporter: "Big guy?"

Nixon: "Yes."

Reporter: "Probably pretty strong."

Nixon: "Yes."

So Nixon decided to use his radio and get the help of other officers.

"I realized my radio was dead," said Nixon.

Because it's battery was old and worn out and hadn't been replaced by HPD.

"If they want me to come out here and risk my life I want equipment that works," said Nixon.

"They're worrried about dodging bullets, they don't need to worry about a dead battery," said Jim Davis, who ran the Houston Police Department's radio shop. "Almost everything is old."

And as result, what happened to patrolman Nixon happens to hundreds of other officers.

"I've had radios that I've personally dealt with that have been worked on as many as three times a month," said Davis. "We're heading for a critical meltdown if they don't address the problem."

And the problem? Not just the radios, but Houston's radio system often doesn't work, putting you, police, and firefighters in danger. The reason? It's outdated and aging. And it's something the city knows all about.

How do we know?

A secret study commissioned by the city in 2003 and obtained by the Defenders.

Known as the SWISS report or the Strategic Wireless Infrastructure Systems Study. It says: "All of Houston's radio systems are currently experiencing problems that must be resolved."

Problems like not enough room on the system for first responders to just talk.

Take the Houston Police, the report says, some police have to wait their turn just to get on the air which can be a real problem if immediate assistance is needed.

And that it "negatively impacts departmental response time and officer safety."

Or what about the Houston Fire Department? The report says they have the same problem resulting in garbled communications and increased response times to emergencies.

"As a citizen you're probably not going to get help as quickly as you need it," said John DiSalvo, an expert and pioneer in Public Safety radio systems.

And after reading the city's report, he says: "A very serious, bad situation for all the people involved."

That's because the study also says the city's system has dead spots where police or firemen can't receive or transmit a call for help which can put "personnel and the citzens of Houston at risk."

Places like shopping malls, parking garages, high-rises. And then there are the downtown tunnels, used by thousands, where Officer Nixon showed us the radio didn't work.

And even entire areas, like Kingwood, are riddled with dead spots.

"It's a serious situation," said Dennis Pruitt, an emergency medical technician for the Houston Fire Department. "Seconds matter, every second matters when it comes to an emergency."

But he says dead zones could be lethal for his patients.

"There are situations where you are going to need assistance," said Pruitt.

And sometimes his radio just wouldn't work -- like at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

"If you wanted to talk you couldn't get out. So you had to do footwork, run, to find a phone," said Pruitt.

"This is a very bad thing for a heart patient, as an example and the patient might die because of that," said DiSalvo.

But believe it or not some Houston radio towers also threaten public safety. Like the 500-foot one that towers over a residential area near Clodene.

In 2003, the city's secret report found rust and "significant damage" to the tower that "may present a threat to home owners" because it could eventually fall. And added it "must be addressed immediately."

Yet last week we found the same problems and showed them to our expert.

"I'd get that sucker fixed very quickly. And I mean tomorrow," said DiSalvo.

When asked if it's right next to a neighborhood, Chief David Cutler, who runs communications for the Houston Police Department, said, "Well, it's really not right up next to a neighborhood- the neighborhood is right up next to it."

So what about radio problems like overcrowding and dead zones?

When asked if this negatively impacts officer safety and response time and if it's a good thing for citizens, Cutler said, "It is not a good thing for anybody."

So we asked the Mayor about everything we had seen.

"It's not a problem that's going to be solved in one day. It will be over a period of years," said Mayor Bill White.

And in the meantime? Police like Tom Nixon and firefighters like Dennis Pruitt will just have to make do.

"They put us on the backburner, until somebody gets killed, or somebody gets injured," said Pruitt.

Nearly a year and a half ago the SWISS report suggested a solution: That Houston fast track its move to a new digital radio system, like ones already online in Harris County and many other cities. But the city has failed to even seek bids on the design of that new system.