Oakland Police Radios Failed During Obama Visit

This city's year-old $18 million police radio system failed repeatedly during President Barack Obama's visit to Oakland on Monday and during protests surrounding it.

Many of the 100 police officers assigned to presidential security duty that day were unable at times to communicate through their radios with police dispatchers, and even with each other, during the president's fundraiser at a downtown theater, according to the head of the city's police union.

At one point, officers couldn't reach dispatchers for about 30 minutes, said Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association. Another time, some officers reported that the radios failed altogether shortly after the president departed and some protesters began blocking downtown streets.

Read the full Associated Press story.