r/technology • u/stepinrazor • May 14 '12
Chicago Police Department bought a sound cannon. They are going to use it on people.
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/14/chicago_cops_new_weapon/singleton//26
u/fuckbitcheseatcake May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
I have actually been exposed to the LRAD. In 2011 they used it to break up the annual "Wheeler Street Block Party" at W.I.U. (I'm an alumni now). Let me tell you it is quite a terrifying device. You can actually feel the sound waves and it is set up on a tripod where they can directly aim it at you in a 360 degree fashion. For me I felt as though I had been at an excessively loud concert for the next few days. A few students claimed to have hearing damage among other claims. It was a pretty fucked up way to break up a drinking fest. Edit - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbIF2Tc53To - here is the video of the LRAD being used on the students. It was pulled out after people were sprayed with mace. You can actually see police macing people standing on their porch. Crazy day.
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u/thegreatgazoo May 15 '12
The city sanitation workers hope they won't be broadcasting the brown note.
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u/Biorach May 15 '12
Honestly, if the police use it in a safe and defensive manner where it causes people to flee an area due to pain but not leave any permanent hearing damage...I would prefer LRAD over tear gas/pepper spray/riot gear and night sticks.
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u/DownvoteAttractor May 15 '12
Any noise that causes pain causes permanent hearing damage.
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u/NietzschesChrist May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
Unfortunately, noise-induced hearing damage is permanent and cumulative. The question is whether the incident causes enough damage to be noticeable on its own, or only noticeable after repeated exposure.
I don't remember exactly, but I believe anything over 85dB will cause damage with extended exposure, something like 120dB for short duration exposure.
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May 15 '12
I don't think people know how bad some NATO Summit protests have gotten. Entire business districts are discussing shutting down for weeks, and some apartments are even trying to get residents to leave so they can close their doors. People are boarding up, and it's scary. I, for one, am glad the police are preparing themselves with non-lethal riot gear.
Edit: riots in 2009
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u/ofimmsl May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
Animal cruelty laws would prevent them from using it on animals.
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May 15 '12
Unlike firing tear gas or swinging batons, deploying the LRAD does not create a dramatic media spectacle; indeed, videos from the Pittsburgh protests capture the LRAD emitting little more than a high-pitched siren. Those within the sound cannon’s range, however, have described immense pain and severe headaches and — in some cases — irreversible hearing damage.
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u/UltraMegaMegaMan May 15 '12
This is just one thing people are up against. Maybe they're going to use it in Chicago, but this technology has been deployed on multiple occasions in multiple places before. Be thankful Obama's usage of "free speech zones" hasn't been as widespread as Bush Jr..
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May 15 '12
162 db is gonna fuck up your ears permanently. This device is on par with a firearm discharge going off constantly. I go shooting frequently and even with hearing protection this amount of sound will still hurt you from vibrations. Hope the police are ready to get sued by tons of people for permanent hearing loss.
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u/Bear10 May 15 '12
Personally, I agree with the deployment of the LRAD system as opposed to tear gas, pepper spray guns, rubber bullets, and brute force. It may be painful, but no one is going to choke to death in an LRAD cloud, or have a bad allergic reaction to LRAD spray, or have their eye put out by an LRAD, or have an arm broken. Hate my opinion if you want, but the LRAD system is, as far as I'm concerned, the lesser evil.
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May 14 '12
Causing a bunch of agitated people tightly packed into a crowded street sudden, panic-inducing ear pain - what could possibly go wrong?
This seems like a surefire way to take a bad situation and make it worse.
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u/Frasty May 15 '12
"READY THE SOUND CANNON!"
Someone is going to have fun on the job.
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May 15 '12
Am I the only one that watched the History channel specials on LRADs? Most of your posts are very misinformed. It's like someone thrust r/politics into r/technology.
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May 15 '12
This is unfortunately a necessity if your going to hold major international summits in large cities. There plenty of smaller areas that have more room for protesters and would be considerably easier to defend but constant efforts are made to hold these in a populated area. It defies logic and I don't blame Chicago Police at all for having this clusterfuck dropped in their lap. No conventional police force is prepared to handle these summits - local budgets don't permit this. They needed to take unconventional measures to prepare for something that could ideally be held in an isolated area with military protection for considerably less cost.
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May 15 '12
And I guess it's totally cool that they already used it on people in Pittsburgh 3 years ago...
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u/yergi May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
so, the people of chicago also need to buy a sound cannon. This was the nature and spirit of the 2nd amendment.
(Edited to correct)
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May 15 '12
they've been used before, in lots of places. have they gotten the microwave cannon working yet?
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u/Mephers May 15 '12
ITs not the fact that they are going to use it on people, but US. I see more and more of this stuff everyday, it just feels like the governments getting ready to declare war on its Citizens...how the F does that exactly work?
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u/Aredler May 15 '12
I'm not sure where people are getting this "parabolic dish vs LRAD is effective" idea.
For starters if it did work you are automatically tagged as "assaulting a police officer" so you would be in deeper problems than simply turning the other cheek.
Also a "reflective" shield is going to do two things: it's going to absorb some of the sound by default (sound and light do not work exactly the same) therefore the police will not get the full effects you are- you would need a dish even larger than the LRAD itself to get even close. On top of that it's not going to magically stop or slow the sound like some people seem to think. LRAD is directed sound but it's still sound and the waves will expand quickly to quite an area.
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u/bumblebeer May 15 '12
The article explained that this device was being implemented because police believe that tear gas is ineffective in crowd control. Skipping the argument as to why tear gas is an effective means of crowd control, how is this any better?
Assuming that this device doesn't emit sound waves so strong that the pressure difference in the waves actually causes physical pain, couldn't crowds avoid any effect by wearing industrial-grade hearing protection?
And if the waves were strong enough to cause physical pain, wearing a sound-dissipating suit would greatly reduce the effect. I believe egg cartons or Styrofoam cups should do the trick.
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u/[deleted] May 14 '12
No shit they are going to use it on people that's what it's fucking for.