TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – On Friday morning, an alert came blaring from cell phones across the state. Around 4:50 a.m., a Blue Alert was released for a man suspected of seriously injuring a police chief in Memphis, Texas.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a Blue Alert is activated when a situation meets the following four criteria:
• A law enforcement officer must have been killed or seriously injured by an offender.
• The investigating law enforcement agency must determine that the offender poses a serious risk or threat to the public and other law enforcement personnel.
• A detailed description of the offender’s vehicle, vehicle tag or partial tag must be available for broadcast to the public.
• The investigating law enforcement agency of jurisdiction must recommend activation of the Blue Alert to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Executive Order RP 68 was signed by former Governor Rick Perry, creating the Blue Alert Program. According to the order, the purpose of activating a state-wide alert is to “blanket the state with information identifying the vehicle of the suspected assailant of a law enforcement officer, thus hindering the suspect’s ability to flee the state, facilitating the suspect’s speedy capture and helping to eliminate the threat the suspect would otherwise pose to Texas communities and other law enforcement personnel.”
The alert is only terminated if the suspect is caught, if it is determined they have left the state or if it is determined the alert is no longer effective in helping law enforcement.
According the Federal Communications Commission, some wireless carriers allow customers to block these state-wide alerts and others, including AMBER Alerts.
No one can disable national alerts on wireless devices.
If you have more questions concerning Wireless Emergency Alerts, click here.
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