Sen. Casey Says Legal Quirk Locks Amtrak Police Out of US Emergency Radio Frequencies
By Kim Glovas
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- US senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) wants the Federal Communications Commission to change its policy to allow Amtrak police to communicate with other first responders.
Casey appeared this morning at 30th Street Station, in West Philadelphia, with Amtrak police to call on the FCC to change its policy, "allowing railroad police to access frequencies reserved for public safety operability. If you are a law enforcement official, you ought to be able to communicate with other law enforcement officers," he said.
David Pearlson, president of the union that represents Amtrak police, agreed:
"Because our system is archaic, and pre-9/11 design, using these new frequencies that we'd have access to would be a post-9/11 system made for the 21st century."
The current law allows those frequencies to be accessed by police, fire, beach patrols, and school buses, but not Amtrak police, Casey and Pearlson noted.