Hi Mickey, I'll tell you what I know which came from Laura Smith at the FCC. I haven't finished my trip report from Washington late last week but on Friday Chris and I did meet with Laura at the FCC's Gettysburg office. When this issue was reported to the FCC they began working on it and immediately opened a dialog with the Chief of Police in Indianapolis, who told the FCC he was unaware of the matter would resolved immediately, the radios removed and the officers who broke laws would be disciplined. We were ready to report the matter but at Laura's request she asked that we give the Chief a few days to take action in this matter, and we honored the FCC's request. According to Laura one of the local hams, who has a history of issues with the Indianapolis Police Dept, was not satisfied to allow the Police Department to take action and called the local TV station, Newsline, etc. So, we did honor the FCC's request to not make a big public story out of this. Why? Laura says the Police Department took immediate action when it was brought to their attention and in no way was the FCC going to action against the Indianpolis Police Department's commercial radio license since it is a public safety matter. That's all I know. I don't think it is as big of a story as some are trying to make it out to be. Yes, there was illegal operation occurring but the hams tracked it down, reported it and it was stopped and disciplinary action taken against those responsible. Dave may have additional info he wants to add. 73 Joel W5ZN On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 8:12 AM, Mickey Cox <mcoxk5mc@bellsouth.net> wrote:
ARRL ODV,
Has the ARRL publicly avoided the issue concerning the apparent misuse of ham gear by some officers in the Indianapolis Police Department or have I simply missed reading about it on the League site or in the ARRL Letter? Apparently this issue was first brought to light to the ham community by "Amateur Radio Newsline" about six weeks ago.
73,
K5MC Delta Division Director