Oakland’s 911 system crashed for nearly two days after thieves gutted critical AT&T infrastructure, forcing police to ration emergency responses while dispatchers improvised workarounds across the Bay Area.
The outage began shortly after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, when police dispatchers watched their computer-aided dispatch system, known as CAD, suddenly freeze and flash an error message, according to the East Bay Times. When employees tried emergency and non-emergency phone lines, they discovered those systems were also down, along with internet service.
Within roughly an hour, incoming 911 calls were diverted to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which relayed emergencies to Oakland police dispatchers. Oakland dispatchers also relocated to other emergency communications centers as officials scrambled to keep critical services operating.
“This is a perfect example of theft leading to something far more severe and serious that could result in people losing their lives,” Beere said during a news conference Thursday. The nearly 30-year department veteran said he had never witnessed a communications failure of such magnitude.
“I’ve never seen our optic lines being non-functioning, our phones being disconnected,” he continued.
While fire dispatchers continued handling medical and fire emergencies, police were forced to prioritize the most urgent criminal incidents as technicians raced to restore the crippled network. By Thursday afternoon, the city’s computer-aided dispatch system was back online, but phone service remained impaired, leaving authorities dependent on temporary emergency communications arrangements.
AT&T confirmed Thursday that criminals had damaged both copper and fiber-optic facilities, disrupting emergency call routing for some customers in the Oakland area. Technicians had been working since Wednesday night to repair the destruction, the telecommunications giant said.
Normal service was finally restored Friday morning, after repair crews worked around the clock to undo the damage caused by the suspected thieves. But the culprits behind the potentially deadly chaos remain on the loose.
The Oakland fiasco unfolded as other California communities reported separate 911 disruptions Thursday, including Riverside County and Santa Barbara, where some cellphone users struggled to reach emergency dispatchers.
“9-1-1 OUTAGE ALERT We are aware of an outage affecting some cellular users’ ability to call 9-1-1,” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office posted on X. “If you have an emergency and cannot get through to 9-1-1, please call 951-776-1078.”
Authorities in those areas issued alternative emergency numbers and urged residents not to make unnecessary test calls that could further overwhelm dispatchers. Officials have not established that those outages were connected to the Oakland vandalism.
Police have launched an investigation into the theft and vandalism, with Beere revealing that investigators were pursuing leads and that he had contacted the FBI. The department urged residents to immediately report suspicious individuals cutting or removing communications cables, warning that such crimes can have consequences far beyond stolen metal.
Oakland Chief Information Officer Tony Batalla said the city would continue working with AT&T and other partners to strengthen its infrastructure. Beere said he had already discussed alternative technologies with the fire chief, including systems that would not depend on vulnerable ground-based communications lines.
City officials are now examining ways to prevent another potentially catastrophic failure.