Louisiana police department apologizes for using The Purge siren to signal curfew

[RandySF]

This is one Purge sequel that nobody wanted to see.

The city of Crowley, La., recently instituted a curfew to help curb the spread of COVID-19, prompting the city's police department to use a siren to signal the order going into effect at 9 p.m. But Crowley residents found the sound a little too reminiscent of the siren that marks the start of the annual night of crime in the horror film The Purge. Take a listen below (for comparison, you can hear the Purge Night siren in the original film's trailer).

Local news station KATC reported that a Crowley Police Department Facebook post, which has since been deleted, received over 500 comments asking why the siren was necessary. The Acadia Parish Sheriff's Department issued a statement noting they also received "numerous complaints" about the siren.

"Last night a 'Purge Siren' was utilized by the Crowley Police Department as part of their starting curfew," Acadia Parish Sheriff, K.P. Gibson said in the statement. "We have received numerous complaints with the belief that our agency was involved in this process. We were not involved in the use of the 'Purge Siren' and will not utilize any type of siren for this purpose."

It seems the eerie sound was used inadvertently; Crowley Police Chief Jimmy Broussard told KATC he was not aware the siren was connected to the film, and that the department will not use any siren to signal the curfew going forward.




https://ew.com/movies/the-purge-siren-louisiana-police-department-curfew/?utm_campaign=entertainmentweekly_entertainmentweekly_trueanthem&utm_content=movies&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_term=5e938616bb567600011c1858

[backtoblue]

1. That is terrifying

[Throck]

2. Or did the movie copy them?

Whose siren was around longer?

Sad that we live in a time where we need a curfew, mandated by government, yet necessitated by the lack of common sense of the citizens.

[mercuryblues]

3. Sound like a generic siren to me.

[Throck]

6. I think people identify too much with Hollywood pop culture.

Mass psychosis.

[NutmegYankee]

4. There is no rational reason whatsoever for a curfew.

There should have been a purge - of the police department and city administration. People going for walks at night pose no risk whatsoever.

[Throck]

7. In some areas crime is up.

My friend from NJ listens to the NYPD scanners from NYC. Break ins and home invasions are up. He's worried about escalation in Trenton.

[NutmegYankee]

9. And handing a summons to someone walking their neighborhood at night won't fix that.

Excessive and overly authoritarian to impose a curfew on adults. It should be disobeyed by anyone who values liberty. I'm perfectly cool with social distancing, but telling me I can't go for a walk, outrageous!

[Throck]

12. Upping the police state.

We're fighting a plague of common sense.

[NutmegYankee]

13. Part of my reaction is this would be unthinkable where I live.

But parts of the South are not far removed from the “black codes”. And curfews were a big part of that.

[Throck]

14. The resistance to social distancing seems to be universal

My San Diego friend says the beaches have been magnets to a diverse crowd. When people refuse to act with common sense, the government sends in the police to over react.

It's an awful time in human history people at all levels fear the unknown. Some people are losing their shit. Some never had their shit together in the first place.

[thesquanderer]

8. Curfew is helpful as a partial stay-in-place.

Cutting social interactions for part of the day is better than not cutting them at all.

[NutmegYankee]

10. It's an excessive overstep towards a police state.

Social distancing and working from home are fine, but many including myself exercise at night wearing reflective gear. There is no logical purpose to fine/summons someone like myself except as a show of power.

[Renew Deal]

5. lol

[sarisataka]

11. Were people concerned

That the Purge was now a real thing because the siren was similar?