Kenneth “Ken” J. Van Patten passes away (FL)

Kenneth J. Van Patten, age 85, of Punta Gorda, FL passed away December 9, 2020 at home. He worked for the Hennepin County Sheriff Department Minneapolis and later the Elk River Police Department and the Sherburne Country Sheriff Office. In his consulting career, he wrote many technical working papers related to wireless communications networking. He was a member of a number of organizations. He was a volunteer of Charlotte County Office of Emergency Management Communications group, The Association of Public Safety Communications Officers International…

Alachua County must pay $1.6M bill or face shutdown of public safety system (FL)

After the county failed to negotiate a new contract with Gainesville Regional Utilities’ GRUCom for its public safety radio system, GRUCom billed the county $1.6 million — more than double the county’s usual cost for running the system, or else it could face a system shutdown. 

County commissioners voted at Tuesday’s special meeting to send a letter to Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe stating that they want to negotiate a better deal but will seek an injunction to stop the system from being inaccessible if the bill isn’t paid on time… 

Bloomington’s Community Advisory on Public Safety Commission seeks diverse applicants (IN)

Bloomington’s new Community Advisory on Public Safety Commission is open for applications to fill 11 vacant positions, the City of Bloomington’s Clerk’s Office announced Dec. 30.

The commission will research “evidence-based alternatives to traditional policing” and identify public safety practices used in other U.S. cities as well as internationally. It will also evaluate if the practices found would work in Bloomington, according to the legislation that established the commission…

New Tennessee law allows trained 911 operators to give CPR instructions to emergency callers

New legislation in Tennessee gives all 911 operators across the state the resources to provide CPR instructions to callers in an emergency situation. The law went into effect January 1, 2021 and it provides quick training for all 911 tele-communicators in Tennessee.

“The state board has established online training, so three hour training that you take online, you have to pass instructions on it, so they’re able to get everybody trained, which wasn’t available before,” Hamilton County 911 Emergency Communications Executive Director John Stuermer said…