A Verizon connection issue caused 911 to be temporarily unavailable Friday morning in Maryland’s Montgomery, Prince George’s and Charles counties.
Only Verizon customers were affected by the issue.
While calls to the dispatch number went through for Verizon customers in the D.C.-area jurisdictions, crucial caller ID and location information were not getting through to law enforcement dispatchers on the other end of the line.
The earliest public notification of the problem came from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office shortly before 5 a.m. As of 11 a.m., the Montgomery County Police Department had reported the issue resolved, with updates not yet forthcoming from Charles or Prince George’s County law enforcement.
A statement from Verizon obtained by WUSA-TV indicated that St. Mary’s and Calvert Counties were also affected, although neither jurisdiction’s sheriff’s office made any public indication that there was an issue.
Residents in Prince George’s can call 301-352-1215 or text 9-1-1 in case of emergency, while Charles County residents are urged to call 301-649-3499 while the issue persists.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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