News

Released: March 8, 2017 - Wednesday, 09:17 AM

Update - Verizon Wireless 911 System Issues / Restored

Contact: Tony CipollaPhone: (805) 781-4547Date and time of incident: 03-07-17 at 1:08 AMPlace of Occurrence: San Luis Obispo CountyVictim Information: N/ASuspect Information: N/AOn 03-07-17, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office was notified by e-mail that Verizon Wireless was unable to provide 911 service to Verizon Wireless customers in San Luis Obispo County. The Sheriff’s Office worked closely with Verizon Wireless to find a work-around for 911 calls from their customers until the system could be restored. While the system was being repaired, Verizon Wireless 911 calls were routed to non-emergency business lines at the Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol. The Sheriff’s Office also coordinated with the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services to notify cellular telephone users that a 911 problem existed.

According to Verizon Wireless, the outage affecting Enhanced 911 started on 03-07-2017 at 0108 hours and ended on 03-08-2017 at 0151 hours. Affected public safety answering points were: CSU Cal Poly Police Department, Atascadero Police Department, Grover Beach Police Department, Pismo Beach Police Department, San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office, San Luis Obispo Police Department, and the Paso Robles Police Department. The Arroyo Grande Police Department and Morro Bay Police Department were also affected but not listed because their dispatch services, including 911 calls, are provided by the Sheriff’s Office. The Verizon Wireless 911 system appears to be working properly at this time and there have been no reported problems. Verizon Wireless is still investigating the circumstances to determine the root cause of the problem.