10/30/01

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division, which fined Portland $3,600 this past summer for failures in its emergency radio dispatch system, is withdrawing the citation and fines.

In a report that will be presented Wednesday to the Portland City Council, the state agency determined that the city is taking adequate steps to address the problems.

On July 27, 2000, inspectors classified as serious five violations in which Portland police were unable to call for cover on their hand-held radios, unable to communicate with fellow officers responding to a call or unable to contact a dispatcher when stopping a suspect. A complaint from Portland police Sgt. Lonn Sweeney prompted state inspections in April and June.

More than 80 jurisdictions in the metro area use Portland's $8.5 million 800-megahertz radio system, manufactured by Motorola and operating since 1994. Agencies connected to the system include the Portland Police and Fire bureaus, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Tri-Met police, Port of Portland, area ambulance companies and hospitals.

The city's Bureau of Communications and Networking, known as ComNet, has replaced more than $250,000 worth of equipment to increase radio coverage, plans to add channels to expand its capacity and seek additional money to upgrade equipment, Tim Grewe, the city's chief administrative officer, wrote in the report to the council. ComNet also has provided police with ongoing training on radio use.

-- Maxine Bernstein