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Acoustic device used in iraq ready for protesters Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstoriesny_story_232121712.htmlhttp://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstoriesny_story_232121712.html
NYPD Gets Battle-Tested Convention Gear
Authorities Turn Up The Volume To Secure Convention
Acoustic Machines Were Used By U.S. In Iraq
Aug 19, 2004 1:11 pm US/Eastern
NEW YORK (AP) Forget the megaphone. Police will have a much more high-tech option to make themselves heard over the din of Manhattan traffic, summer tourists and noisy protesters outside the upcoming Republican National Convention: the Long Range Acoustic Device.
The New York Police Department plans to use the portable, dish-shaped instrument developed for the military if it needs to broadcast warnings or instructions to a swelling crowd. It's part of an arsenal of devices and counterterrorism equipment that authorities were unveiling Thursday ahead of the convention Aug. 30-Sept. 2.
The machines are being tested at an air field in a remote section of Brooklyn along with other devices like hand-held radiation detectors and mechanical barriers strong enough to stop a moving vehicle in its tracks.
The department recently bought two of the 45-pound acoustic machines for $35,000 apiece, and plans to mount them on armored vehicles posted outside Madison Square Garden. It would mark the first time the instrument -- which can beam sounds up to 150 decibels for distances up to 300 yards -- has been used by a civilian force.
"We believe we'd be able to use them in a number of scenarios," said Paul Browne, the NYPD's chief spokesman.
Two possible uses cited by Browne: directing crowds to safety following a terrorist attack or other calamity, and reminding protesters where they're allowed to march and rally. At past demonstrations, protesters have complained they couldn't hear police directions, resulting in confusion and angry clashes.
Earlier this year, manufacturer American Technology Corp. of San Diego, Calif., won a $1.1 million contract from the U.S. Marine Corps, which used the gadgets in Iraq.
The military bills them as a "non-lethal weapon" designed to disperse hostile crowds or ward off potential foreign combatants by delivering prerecorded warnings in several languages and, if needed, a blast of earsplitting feedback. But police insist the latter feature won't be used at the convention.
"We're only interested in communicating messages," Browne said.
Bill Dobbs of United for Peace and Justice, which has planned a massive anti-war demonstration on the eve of the convention, called the sound system "a potential Big Brother nightmare."
Police "are trying to use technology and machinery to control every aspect of life on the street, rather than relax a little and let a part of democratic society unfold," he said.
Mobile metal barriers -- a variation of those installed outside government buildings, courthouses and embassies -- will form a series of checkpoints around the arena. Once a truck or car is secured between two barriers, it will be screened for bombs or other contraband by cameras that provide real-time video images of their undercarriages.
The department also will deploy a new fleet of motor scooters to cut through gridlock should trouble arise. Hand-held radiation detection devices will help officers patrolling the streets and subways to guard against a "dirty" bomb.
While protecting federal buildings from violent protests and other threats during the convention, the Department of Homeland Security will arm its officers with non-lethal guns that can target individuals with plastic pellets filled with paint or tear gas. Some also will carry miniature video monitors that can receive feeds from an elaborate system of security cameras.
At sea, the U.S. Coast Guard plans to test a new underwater 3-D sonar system to scan pier walls and ship bottoms in New York Harbor for mines and other explosives. The apparatus can pick out objects as small as a foot long in murky waters, then beam images to an onshore computer for analysis.
(© 2004 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. )
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