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Concerns raised over use of shrill device in NYC
Dec 16, 2014 6:35 am
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The LRAD 100X Handheld Acoustic System, the device purchased by the New York Police Department in 2004. (Courtesy LRAD website)[/caption]
Colin Moynihan is reporting in The New York Times New York City police are now using a long-range acoustic device to transmit loud, piercing sounds as a crowd control tool. The ear-splitting noise emitted from the device can reach up to 152 decibels. The apparatus was used Thu., Dec. 4, to control marchers during protests that erupted following a New York grand jury's failure to indict a police officer in the July killing of Eric Garner on State Island. A witness who came close to the device while documenting the protests, called the beeps “emotionally jarring.” She reported experiencing pressure on her forehead, and feeling dizzy and disoriented. On Fri., Dec. 12, three attorneys sent a letter to Police Commissioner William J. Bratton requesting the devices not be used for deterrent purposes until the police fully tested them, adopted public guidelines for their use and trained officers in how to properly operate them. A New York Police Department spokesman said officer training in the use of the devices addresses intensity of sound, duration and distance. In the past weeks, they said, these factors were controlled at levels not considered dangerous or harmful. The department purchased two of the devices in 2004 for $35,000 a piece, in preparation for the Republican National Convention. They were used to make announcements during the convention and to clear Occupy Wall St. protesters from Zuccotti Park in 2011. The use of the deterrent function on Dec. 4 appeared to be the first sustained use in New York, the lawyers said. In addition to the NYPD, police departments in Santa Ana, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Boston use long-range acoustic devices built by the San Diego-based LRAD Corporation. Read the full story in The New York Times.
The LRAD 100X Handheld Acoustic System, the device purchased by the New York Police Department in 2004. (Courtesy LRAD website)[/caption]Colin Moynihan is reporting in The New York Times New York City police are now using a long-range acoustic device to transmit loud, piercing sounds as a crowd control tool. The ear-splitting noise emitted from the device can reach up to 152 decibels. The apparatus was used Thu., Dec. 4, to control marchers during protests that erupted following a New York grand jury's failure to indict a police officer in the July killing of Eric Garner on State Island. A witness who came close to the device while documenting the protests, called the beeps “emotionally jarring.” She reported experiencing pressure on her forehead, and feeling dizzy and disoriented. On Fri., Dec. 12, three attorneys sent a letter to Police Commissioner William J. Bratton requesting the devices not be used for deterrent purposes until the police fully tested them, adopted public guidelines for their use and trained officers in how to properly operate them. A New York Police Department spokesman said officer training in the use of the devices addresses intensity of sound, duration and distance. In the past weeks, they said, these factors were controlled at levels not considered dangerous or harmful. The department purchased two of the devices in 2004 for $35,000 a piece, in preparation for the Republican National Convention. They were used to make announcements during the convention and to clear Occupy Wall St. protesters from Zuccotti Park in 2011. The use of the deterrent function on Dec. 4 appeared to be the first sustained use in New York, the lawyers said. In addition to the NYPD, police departments in Santa Ana, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Boston use long-range acoustic devices built by the San Diego-based LRAD Corporation. Read the full story in The New York Times.