Pittsburgh Police Tryout Their New Toys For G20!

(Cross-posted fromThe Free Speech Zone)

OH NOZ!

Pittsy po-po did LRAD for teh lulz!

I can haz earplugz?

The Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is a crowd-control and hailing device developed by American Technology Corporation.

According to the manufacturer’s specifications, the equipment weighs 45 pounds (20 kg) and can emit sound in a 30° beam (only at high frequency, 2.5 kHz) from a device 83 centimetres (33 in) in diameter. At maximum level, it can emit a warning tone that is 146 dBSPL (1,000 W/m²) at 1 metre, a level that is capable of permanently damaging hearing, and higher than the normal human threshold of pain (120-140 dB). The maximum usable design range extends to 300 metres. At 300 metres, the warning tone (measured) is less than 90 dB. The warning tone is a high-pitched shrill tone similar to that of a smoke detector.

There appears to be some disagreement over these specifications, as some[who?] have reported measurements that differ from the manufacturer’s specifications, and show reduced output with a less directive beam.

It’s instructive to note that any loudspeaker of equal size will generate a beam of the same directivity as LRAD. The parameter “ka”, which is the wave number multiplied by the speaker radius, is often used to characterize sound source directivity. For this source, ka=19 at 2.5kHz, and according to the LRAD data sheet, the beam angle of about 30 degrees total is precisely what is predicted for a regular loudspeaker.[1] Contrary to some beliefs, the device does not use ultrasound, nor is it a phased array; it uses an array of conventional acoustic tweeters, the same as those used in many professional audio applications, all driven together in parallel.[citation needed] The confusion spawns from a similar product marketed by the same company called the HyperSonic Sound.

People were then blocked off in Arsenal Park and ordered to disperse….where they’re supposed to disperse to when you bottleneck the exit I dunno:

To sum up the new low the organized labor movement has reached:

March splintering

By Sadie Gurman and Rich Lord

A massive show of police force seems to have scattered the crowd of more than 1000 into smaller groups that are moving along Penn Avenue and its side streets. As masked demonstrators ran onto private property to avoid a splay of tear gas, one man in a Teamsters shirt grabbed a stick and yelled , “Oh I’m not afraid to crack ’em!”

http://community.post-gazette….

And now they’re gonna get it from both ends:

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Police are ordering several hundred protesters to stop their march in opposition of the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh.

The march is not sanctioned by the city and police have declared it an unlawful assembly. They are playing an announcement over a loudspeaker telling people to leave or face arrest or “other police action.”

Several hundred protesters, many advocating against capitalism, are trying to march toward the site of the summit.

Police in riot gear are standing guard near the protesters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…

This is all in accordance with our new version of our First Amendment right…

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble*, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

*Must ask the government for permission in advance.