SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) – When emergency responders descended on the site of the Southern California terror attack that killed 14 people, their scanner communications were broadcast live on the Internet, creating potential danger for them, state lawmakers were told.
Police, fire and medical personnel lauded interagency working relationships during a state legislative hearing convened Friday to learn what worked in the hours after a husband and wife inspired by Islamic extremists opened fire on a luncheon for county health inspectors.
But they said officers from diverse agencies must be able to communicate safely without worrying about details of a crime being on a live feed.
“Our radio traffic was playing out in real time across the nation,” said San Bernardino police Lt. Michael Madden said. “That is an extremely precarious situation for first-responders.”
His comments came at a hearing of a joint legislative committee on emergency management called by state Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez, D-Chino.