Crime & Safety
Was Attempt to Interrupt Emergency Dispatch in West Des Moines and Urbandale Deliberate?
Battery backup meant the Westcom Dispatch Center never lost the ability to communicate with police, fire and emergency medical crews.
A power failure earlier this month appears to have been deliberately caused, according to a report on file at the .
Rob Dehnert, assistant chief of emergency medical and communications services for the city of West Des Moines, told Officer Amanda St. George that power was shut off to the dispatch center’s communications system on Aug 17.
Service was never lost since the system ran on battery power until the problem was noticed on Aug. 24 and power was restored. The dispatch center serves police, fire and emergency medical crews in West Des Moines, Urbandale and Clive.
The power switch is located at the water tower at 301 88th St. has video of a person who appeared to be carrying a walking stick in the area of the water tower about three minutes before the power failure was logged, according to the police report.
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