A phone alert regarding police activity on the South Side was sent in error Monday afternoon by the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
The alert was mistakenly sent at 3:36 p.m. to phones within a one-mile radius of Guaranteed Rate Field during a routine weekly test of the system, according to OEMC spokeswoman Melissa Stratton. She said the alert was meant to be internal.
The alert read: “Test: CPD activity in your area. Remain indoors until further notice. Chicago OEMC.”
Another alert was sent by OEMC about 5 p.m. to correct the previous one.
The alert read: “Disregard previous alert message re: CPD activity in area. This was a test sent in error.”
Stratton said that Chicago’s dispatch centers were immediately warned that the initial alert was a test and not a bona fide event.
OEMC tweeted an apology:
“We apologize for the confusion regarding an earlier *test* alert message regarding CPD activity in the area, which was sent in error. Please disregard the message,” OEMC said in the tweet.
@SPOTNEWSonIG #chicagoscanner pic.twitter.com/PYrSi4yMor
— Lunchis4wimps (@Lunchis4whimps) July 22, 2019
We apologize for the confusion regarding an earlier *test* alert message regarding CPD activity in the area, which was sent in error. Please disregard the message.
— Chicago OEMC (@ChicagoOEMC) July 22, 2019
