NORWICH – A request for a new phone system for the Norwich Police Department resulted in a phone and internet upgrade for the entire city government at the City of Norwich Common Council meeting Tuesday night.

The move to unite the police department’s technological needs to a larger city-wide upgrade was approved, but opposed by some members of the board.

After receiving a grant for a new Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) the Norwich City Police discovered their current phone and internet systems were out of date and incompatible with the new computer program.

“We couldn’t record our phone lines or our telephones transmissions because our phones are so out of date,” said Chief of Police Rodney Marsh. “We submitted a body cam video, we uploaded it, it was just one body cam video and it took 34 minutes.”

Norwich Clerk Dee Dufour proposed the council merge the needs of the police department with a major upgrade for all city government offices.