PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - The Coral Springs Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Office and city officials held a commission meeting to discuss improving emergency communication between agencies in the City of Parkland.
It’s been six years since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which displayed many failures between responding police agencies and students and school staff.
Many students from inside called 911.
“Hello, we are at Stoneman Douglas High School, and I think there’s a shooter,” said a student on a 911 call.
“Hello? You still there,” said a dispatcher, as gunshots could be heard in the background.
Those cellphone calls were routed to Coral Springs Police and Fire Department’s dispatch center.
However, school resource officer Scot Peterson was a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy whose radio calls for help were dispatched to BSO regional communications and on a different channel.
“Shots fired — 1200 building,” said Peterson in a radio transmission.
CSPD couldn’t hear Peterson during the emergency call, and BSO couldn’t hear the 911 calls coming from inside the school.
In 2024, nothing has changed regarding the communication issues between the two agencies.
“If you are at Stoneman Douglas High School today, and you pick up your phone, and you call 911, who’s answering the call?” said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, chair of the MSD Commission.
“For cellular, Coral Springs,” said a woman.
“Right, so it’s no different today than it was in 2018,” said Gualtieri.
The City of Parkland uses BSO for police and Coral Springs for fire and emergency medical services. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said the current system of communication has his hands tied.
“These decisions come down to city managers and administrators to make that decision,” he said. “This isn’t a Sheriff’s Office decision. I would have made it and got it done.”
CSPD’s Chief Bradley McKeone said his department is ready to convert to a new system.
“Coral Springs is ready to go with that system. We’ve been ready for a long time,” he said.
McKeone said the department is now waiting on Motorola to build the interface that will connect the agencies. It’s unclear when that will be finalized.
“That really is a question for Motorola at the end of the day. We need to make sure they have and make it a priority for them to get that done,” said Mckeon.
“So that’s a ways off,” said a commission member.
“I don’t anticipate it getting done for at least a year, to be safe,” said McKeone.
Waiting another year does not sit well with commission members who are now growing frustrated.
“We have been over this forever. If the slaughter of all those children and staff can’t move critical mass to do what’s right, nothing will,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “And this is an issue that we have pointed it out. We have brought people to the lectern, and local politics trumps children’s lives in this county, period.”
Broward County officials said a temporary fix is currently in use for an active shooter emergency, designating a special channel that all police agencies can access to and use to communicate.
In case of a long-term issue, the City of Parkland may need to decide which agency they will use for emergencies. That has yet to be determined.
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