Dozens of new police radios fail, thousands returned

    Officials say thousands of new police radios bought as part of a $36.4 million overhaul to a suburban Philadelphia county’s emergency communications network are being returned because some would inexplicably turn off at times.

    Public safety officials in Montgomery County said Thursday the county bought 3,800 radios from Motorola Solutions.

    The county says 300 radios were distributed to police departments in Norristown, Cheltenham, Montgomery Township and Abington. Officials say about 30 of those were arbitrarily shutting off without providing an explanation.

    Officials say the remaining new radios won’t be distributed until the problem is resolved and Motorola is repairing the radios at no extra cost. It’s also extending the warranty by a year.

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    The company confirmed it’s working to fix the faulty devices and is proactively examining all the radios.

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