Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission Focused On Broward's Troubled 911 Communication System
SUNRISE (CBSMiami) – The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission is meeting again for the second day in Sunrise to discuss Broward County's 911 communication system, which critics say is still flawed following the Parkland school tragedy three and a half years ago.
The commission was established to prevent another Parkland tragedy like the one that left 17 dead and 17 others wounded at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February of 2018 by a mass shooter.
The school shooting revealed a lot of issues in the 911 communication system including police radios jamming to the ways calls are routed.
One of the biggest issues discovered in the wake of the tragedy is that emergency calls from Parkland go to Coral Springs and BSO and many on the MSD panel say the system has to be fixed.
Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry was on the hot seat Tuesday morning and said there have been a lot of strides.
They've spent $80 million to fix the communication system and installed new towers, but many on the panel say that is not enough because Coral Springs and Plantation are still are not joining the countywide system.
"The big issue is the city wants to remain independent of the regional system, they have a right to do that. And in order for that to work comfortably, they want to have this solution that can interconnect and the interconnection of disparate systems have to work for all parties, not just one party," said Henry.
Ryan Petty, whose daughter Alaina was killed in the school shooting said enough hasn't been done.
"One of the reasons I moved from Broward County I've lost a loved one here. And I'm not going to lose another one. In the same attitude I saw two years ago, this inability to find common ground and to find a way to solve this persists today."
Tuesday afternoon, BSO Sheriff Gregory Tony will also speak about the communication system, school safety and BSO training and policies.
Also on the agenda, an update on the FortifyFL Reporting App, which is an online "suspicious activity reporting tool, and an appearance by interim Superintendent Dr. Vickie Cartwright who is expected to provide an update on school safety and implementation of laws and commissions recommendations.
On Monday, the commission discussed Alyssa's Law, named in honor of 14-year-old victim Alyssa Alhadeff.
Alyssa's Law requires all public and charter schools to install a silent panic button system that alerts law enforcement in the event of emergencies or life-threatening situations on campus.
The system is called Alyssa's Alerts.
Her mother, Lori Alhadeff, now a member of the Broward School Board, attended the meeting and spoke to CBS4 about the law.
"I'm super excited it passed and is being implemented," said Alhadeff. "In Broward, we are fully integrated with 911," she said.
