State troopers were investigating what they described as a “police incident” at a Hempfield mobile home park Monday morning.
The situation is contained in Wencliffe Lane on the Hilltop Estate. Trooper Steve Limani said men were barricading the park.
Westmoreland County Public Safety Commissioner Roland “Bud” Mertz said state police had asked people living in the area to send an emergency message.
A police incident occurred on Wencliffe Lane on the Hilltop Estate. included in that area.
Please ignore the recent alert sent to Westmoreland County indicating that a shelter has been installed.
— Troopers Steve Limani & Cliff Greenfield (@PSPTroopAPIO) January 16, 2023
The Code Red system did not work as intended when sending messages, Mertz said. When department staff want to send an emergency message through the Code Red system, they select an area on the map so that only those in that area receive smartphone notifications, he said.
“For some reason the system didn’t work that way,” he said.
Mertz waited for a response from the Code Red vendor to determine what caused the problem and how to fix it so it wouldn’t happen again.
“We bought this system with the very idea of being able to notify people in a dangerous situation,” he said.
The department worked with state police to clarify that the message only pertains to people in the mobile home park area. Mertz says the system has been in place for him for six to seven years and is used regularly by staff in the department without issue.
Renatta Signorini is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can reach Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or on her Twitter. .
