Photo by triborough.

Mayor Vince Gray’s bi-weekly press conference was derailed today over concerns that his administration was backtracking on promises of transparency by encrypting police radio communications and limiting the use of the popular D.C. Fire/EMS Twitter account.

In late August, WAMU’s Patrick Madden reported that the Metropolitan Police Department would begin encrypting its radio communications, citing concerns that new mobile apps were allowing criminals to stay one step ahead of police operations. Around the same time, the Fire/EMS Twitter account, one of the most popular among D.C. government agencies with over 9,700 followers, ceased its usual daily output of fire- and emergency-related tweets. The silence was first explained by the fact that the official in charge of it, Pete Piringer, had gone on vacation — but broader concerns about security and jurisdictional matters have since convinced department officials to re-think how they use the account.

At the press conference, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Paul Quander defended the decision to encrypt radio communications, citing operational and safety concerns. Saying the move was meant to promote public safety, Quander also said that police were worried that would-be criminals were using mobile apps to stay ahead of police. “The bad guys will know exactly what police are doing,” he said.

He also more ominously spoke of threats to the District, but did not offer any specifics. “The world we’re living in is changing…we have to adapt or we’ll face the consequences,” Quander said.

D.C. Fire/EMS Chief Kenneth Ellerbe argued that the Twitter account had not been shut down, but rather that its use was being reconsidered after what he claimed was incorrect information that had “imperiled the operation of another agency.” After repeated questioning, he admitted that the other agency had been federal, but refused to offer further details.

After the press conference, Lon Walls, the department’s communication director and a former journalist himself, said that accuracy was vital. “I’d rather be slow and right than fast and wrong,” he said.

“Social media is for parties. We ain’t givin’ parties,” he added, arguing that safety and sensitive issues had to be considered before tweeting out information on emergencies. He did promise that the department’s Twitter account would again be functional, likely as early as this week.

Journalists at the press conference pushed back, arguing that in a changing world, information had to made available as quickly as possible and to the widest audience. They noted that alternative sources for information on crime, fires and emergencies were often delayed or hard to come by, and that the fire department’s Twitter account had served as an invaluable resource for residents.