Lake Charles police seek grant for communication device with 150-decibel output

Lake Charles police seek grant for communication device with 150-decibel output

Police say the device would help them communicate during emergency situations.

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - The Lake Charles Police Department (LCPD) is moving forward with a grant application for a long-range acoustic device, or LRAD.

The Lake Charles City Council approved the grant application this week.

Lake Charles Police say the device would help them communicate during emergency situations.

“Evacuations. Hurricane season. If you need to evacuate residents...evacuate Mardi Gras when the parade is over. Crisis negotiations. Any critical incident to where precise communication needs to be relayed,” LCPD Corporal Martin Johnson said.

A LRAD can produce sound up to 150 decibels, leading to lawsuits in Pennsylvania and New York alleging hearing damage. In New York, police were banned from using the alert or deterrent tones but may still use voice commands.

“I mean, 150 decibels is extremely loud, and I wouldn’t want to be exposed to it myself. Inside the inner ear, there are sensory hair cells that detect sound vibrations. And they’re very, they let us hear very quiet sounds. But when a sound gets that lo...