Checkpoints / Roadblocks
Checkpoints / Roadblocks

Iraq
In 2007, a car was speeding toward a U.S. military patrol in a secure area. The patrol used lasers, flashing vehicle lights, yelling and urgent motioning in a futile attempt to get the driver’s attention. As a last resort, the patrol’s gunners shot three rounds at the car and driver. Two rounds found the hood, but the third round missed the driver and killed a 12 year-old girl riding in the back seat. The driver did not comprehend the patrol was commanding him to stop.
According to a soldier at the scene, “I believe if we would have had the LRAD on our vehicle, we could have used several host nation languages to assist the gunner in getting the driver’s attention. It also would have given our gunner several ways to communicate by voice and tone to go along with the light and laser. The LRAD definitely provides the capability to clearly communicate your intentions and provides soldiers time to evaluate situations and then escalate through their ROE process from a safe distance. If we would hav