LA-RICS public-safety LTE project in peril after LA City Council votes to stop construction
This sentiment was echoed by Dave Gillotte, president of the LA County Firefighters Local 1014.
“We do need an interoperable radio system, and we’re not suggesting that we don’t—we’re very supportive of this,” Gillotte said. “But this is a simple decision to support your motion to responsibly step back from something that has not been transparent to any of your constituents, by any measure, to assess not only the health and safety issues that—while debatable, are not debatable that they are there—and we’re using 20-year-old data to evaluate them. Do you think that’s fair for cell-phone technology right now?
“Raise your hand, if you want a cell-phone antenna in your kid’s house or in your own home—a 21% property-value decrease and citizens waking up and finding it out with their morning coffee? That’s no way to do business … with the residents we serve and pay taxes.”
Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League—the local police union—said union officials were “shocked” to learn that the massive LTE project has been going on for years without being informed about it.
“The [Los Angeles police] department failed to inform the real stakeholders, who are the police officers who have to work in these stations,” Lally said. “They could have done it through roll-call training. They have a captive audience for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and there was nothing done in roll call. They could have come to us over the last three years and say, ‘Help us sell this to the cops, because it is safe.’
“I didn’t receive any information about this project until 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday. And I firmly believe that the only reason I got that document yesterday was because of this motion that is being brought before you today. There’s a huge credibility gap between the police department and these officers … they have no credibility. They could have come to us, and they didn’t. They chose not to.
“I have no idea if this project is safe or not, but I do know that the real stakeholders—the police officers—definitely don’t want the department to make the decision for them alone”