Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Oh, the story on the acoustic weapon the San Diego SO

deployed just gets better. According to what I just read at Confederate Yankee,
Deploying the Long Range Acoustic Device to local events has provided ammunition to critics of Police Sheriff Bill Gore, who was the agent-in-charge of the FBI's infamous 1992 Ruby Ridge siege.
Damn, doesn't that give you a lot of confidence in the SO having this weapon? Especially considering the following passage I'll repeat:
ECM: Crowd control has been in the news with the Francine Busby pepper spray incident. Now some have expressed concern after spotting long-range acoustical devices (LRADs) at Congressional members Susan Davis and Darrell Issa town hall forums on healthcare. We understand these devices can be used as loudspeakers, to avoid need for a helicopter to address large crowds—

GORE: That’s not the primary purpose.

ECM: They’re also called sonic cannons, capable of directing a deterrent sound. They’ve been used in IRAQ on insurgents and to repel pirates.

GORE: That’s a precaution in case you need it.

ECM: LRADs can cause permanent hearing loss and other health problems. What make and model LRAD do you have, what are the guidelines for when these may be used, what training is provided, and how can you assure that your deputies and innocent bystanders won’t be hurt?

GORE: Our deputies have the required training
.
Not a damn word about what the 'required' training is, and he pretty flatly admits the primary purpose of the thing is as a weapon.

As CY says, My gut reaction s that full-power military grade LRADs do not belong in the hands of civilian law enforcement at benign public gatherings any more than fully-automatic M4s do, and that having such systems in place will only encourage agitators to bring weaponry sufficient to counter these systems, putting the population at large at a much great risk than there would have been if LRADs was never introduced to the situation at all.
Makes you wonder, does the San Diego SO have any M4's around? Or MP5 subguns? Any bets?

4 comments:

Graumagus said...

Isn't it telling that certain elected assholes feel the need to employ mob control weapons rather than face their constituents??

They use something like that on civilians peacefully assembling and this country will get uglier than they ever imagined.

I, for one, really hope it never comes to that.

Anonymous said...

Pretty damn bad that you are in danger of serious injury or death if you disagree with what the government deems right for the people of America.

Anonymous said...

Looks like electronic hearing protectors might be a good idea for the next public event you attend.

Samsam

the pistolero said...

Just part and parcel of the militarization of the police, to fight the War On Some Drugs. Because drugs 'r' baaaad, hmmkay?