McDowell County deputies get new radios to improve field communication

McDowell County deputies now have 12 new portable radios meant to make field communication more reliable in the county’s steep, signal-poor terrain. The upgrade came through a grant application submitted by McDowell County Sheriff James “Boomer” Muncy and delivered 24 Motorola APX Next radios total, split evenly between McDowell County and Wyoming County.

The purchase matters because radio failures in McDowell County are not a minor inconvenience. Deputies working far from the county seat, or moving through hollows and ridges where service can drop, can lose contact at the moment they need it most. The new APX Next units are designed to connect by WiFi and to perform better in areas with poor service, giving officers another way to stay in touch when traditional radio coverage is weak.

Motorola says the APX NEXT line includes WiFi, 4G LTE, 5G SA, Bluetooth, NFC, SmartConnect and an all-weather touchscreen. The company says SmartConnect can automatically switch calls between P25 and broadband when users move beyond radio-network boundaries. In practical terms, that could help deputies keep talking during traffic stops, emergency calls and other incidents where a dead zone can turn into a safety problem.

The radios also fit into a larger public-safety network already in place across McDowell County. County radio coordination runs through the McDowell County Emergency Communication Center, and the county’s statewide interoperable radio network includes the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office along with a wide range of municipal police, fire, EMS and public-service agencies. That interoperability is especially important in a place where deputies may need to work alongside other departments quickly and without confusion.

The equipment update also shows how McDowell County is leaning on outside grant funding to improve service without putting the full cost on local taxpayers. While the story does not spell out the dollar value of the grant or a specific rollout schedule, the radios are already in hand and headed to the two sheriff’s offices.

For McDowell County, the real test will be whether the new system closes the communication gaps that have long challenged public-safety crews in the county’s roughest country. If it does, the benefit will be felt not in a press release, but in faster coordination, safer traffic stops and fewer moments when a weak signal slows a response.