WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — The Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) said in a statement on Monday, April 22, that an "early morning copper theft" resulted in widespread 911 dispatch issues.
The Fayetteville Police Department (FPD) reported that some AT&T customers may not be able to call 911 due to a "cable cut" on Monday morning. FPD said the areas affected by the issue included Crawford and Washington counties, but it has since been resolved.
The copper theft, however, caused issues that crossed state lines, according to FSPD.
At around 7:30 a.m., Fort Smith officers responded to a vandalism call on Midland Boulevard, where copper wire was taken, resulting in the "disruption of fiber optic communications of numerous businesses," the department said.
Businesses from Fort Smith to Kansas City were affected, FSPD said— including the non-emergency line having issues at the Crawford County Dispatch Center.
Dispatch center management said they noticed the outage around 3:45 a.m. on Monday and got the issue resolved by 1:30 p.m.
At 2:25 p.m. FSPD said AT&T was still working on the issue. FSPD also said the FBI is involved and "actively investigating this incident."
Suzanne Trantow with AT&T said in a statement Monday evening:
"Service has been restored and is operating normally for customers in the Ft. Smith area. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate the patience of our customers."
Anyone with information on this theft is asked to call FSPD at (479) 709-5000. Tips are eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 but must be submitted to the Fort Smith Crime Stoppers at (479) 782-7463.
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