The Oakland Police Department expects its 911 dispatch system to come back online by Thursday evening after the system broke down Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Oakland\u2019s Information Technology Director Tony Batalla said AT&T determined that fiber-optic lines were damaged Wednesday evening, causing the outage.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing forward, we\u2019ll continue to work with AT&T and our partners to mitigate and strengthen our infrastructure and ensure incidents like this don\u2019t happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
OPD Chief James Beere said police discovered that copper lines throughout the city were also \u201ccompromised\u201d last night. OPD is now investigating the disruption as a possible criminal act, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to follow every lead,\u201d said Beere. \u201cThis is a perfect example of theft leading to something far more severe and serious that could result in people losing their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his nearly three decades of working at OPD, Beere said he has never seen fiber-optic lines stop functioning or phone lines be disconnected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very concerning,\u201d Beere said.<\/p>\n
Beere thanked the Alameda County Sheriff\u2019s Office for stepping in to assist OPD dispatchers.<\/p>\n
OPD is still only responding to high-priority calls as of Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n
According to city officials, just after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, OPD\u2019s dispatch system froze and displayed an error message. Dispatchers then tried both emergency and non-emergency lines and discovered there was no service to any phone lines, internet, or computer-aided dispatch.<\/p>\n
Shortly after 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, all 911 calls to OPD were transferred to the Alameda County Sheriff\u2019s Office. OPD dispatchers were moved to the Oakland Fire Department\u2019s dispatch center and the Alameda County Sheriff\u2019s dispatch center, according to the city.<\/p>\n
As of Thursday afternoon, OPD is only responding to \u201cPriority 1\u201d calls, or emergencies that pose an imminent threat to life or serious injuries, an ongoing violent crime, or an urgent public safety hazard. OFD is still able to respond to all fire and medical calls.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s IT Department has been working with AT&T to restore service, according to city officials.<\/p>\n
OAK311 lines are also down due to the same issue. To report an infrastructure emergency, such as flooding or a downed power line, call 911. To report non-emergencies, like potholes or illegal dumping, email OAK311@oaklandca.gov<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n