The Sacramento Police Department’s Marine Unit uses an LRAD 300X system mounted on their jet boat to conduct daily water operations. LRAD’s safe alert tone is used to command boaters’ attention, followed by highly intelligible instructions and directions such as “Cut power”, “You are entering a restricted area”, and “Turn your boat around.”

“The LRAD has proven to be a tremendous asset. On a daily basis we use the alert tone to gain the attention of motorists and boaters. It’s a unique device that projects sound more powerfully and more precisely than previous P.A. systems. We use LRAD’s microphone to give boaters instructions and directions. We also frequently use LRAD’s MP3 player to pre-record and playback common instructions and commands at the push of a button. This frees our attention to focus on what boaters are doing.”
– Sacramento PD

“Since receiving the LRAD 300X, the SWAT team has employed it on several occasions and have been completely satisfied with its performance and capabilities. It is the ideal communications platform during SWAT tactical operations.

As the project manager for the LRAD purchase, I have been extremely satisfied with the support I have received from you and your company. I would highly recommend this product or other models of this product from LRAD to other law enforcement agencies.”
– Lt. David Mahoney, Austin, TX SWAT

The Santa Ana SWAT team used an LRAD system to drive gang members from a house.

When they arrived at the scene, officers suspected three or four gang members were inside. But after employing LRAD, 10 suspects peacefully emerged, enabling the SWAT team to safely conduct their operation without having to evacuate neighboring homes or enter the house by force.

At Detroit’s International Freedom Festival, local law enforcement and security personnel utilized several LRADs as P.A. systems and to keep the peace. The LRAD systems broadcast messages welcoming visitors and provided public announcements throughout the event. As large crowds formed and grew restless near the end of the festival, the LRAD systems were used to help prevent incidents of crowd violence.

When large student block parties get out of control, Salisbury, MD police use LRAD 500X systems to safely disperse crowds and restore order.

During large crowd celebrations, the Columbia PD use LRAD 100X systems magnetically mounted on their patrol cars to inform revelers it’s time to go home. Fans that linger are warned that they may be subject to arrest. Crowds usually disperse quickly resulting in fewer incidents and arrests.

The Boston Police Department employed LRAD in Kenmore Square during the 2005 Super Bowl celebration in place of kinetic measures after the death of Victoria Snelgrove in 2004.

Officers fired FN303 rounds in an attempt to control the wild Red Sox 2004 ALCS championship celebrations. One round hit Ms. Snelgrove in the eye socket and lodged in her brain.

LRAD systems were used by local and county law enforcement to communicate to and disband large protests during the civil unrest that lasted for several days.

“You had a large concentration of people out here on the street…Once the LRAD sounded, a couple of warnings from the loudspeaker, the people scattered all at once…particularly once the LRAD went off. I was surprised to see just how effective that was.”
– Reporter Mike Tobin

View Fox News clip covering the use of LRAD systems to alert demonstrators and communicate messages and instructions.

The New York Police Department has used LRAD for crowd communications and control during the Republican National Convention protests in 2004, the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011, the Black Friday and Eric Garner protests in 2014, and at certain Times Square New Year’s Eve celebrations.

The Pittsburgh Police Department used several LRAD systems to communicate to unruly crowds and disperse unlawful protests during the September 2009 G20 Summit.

Nate Harper, the Pittsburgh police bureau chief, told reporters. “It served its purpose well.”

Raymond DeMichiei, Pittsburgh’s deputy director of emergency management and homeland security, stated the devices worked well without hurting anyone. “Every police officer I talked to thought it worked famously,” said Mr. DeMichiei, who ordered the devices for Pittsburgh. “The bottom line is we could maintain order with the protesters without hurting them. It makes them uncomfortable but does not hurt them,” he said, noting that Pittsburgh police had been trained to use the devices properly.

Pittsburgh PD officers also use LRAD systems for a variety of situations including peacefully ending barricaded subject situations.

More than 1,000 foreign workers were stranded in buses during a traffic jam that lasted several hours. An LRAD 100X was used to explain the situation to the frustrated workers in several different languages, calming and defusing a potentially volatile situation.

The Seattle Police Department deployed an LRAD 1000 to safely talk down a man threatening to jump from a downtown pedestrian bridge. After 14 hours of trying several tactics without success, commanders at the scene decided to move all their officers away from the man’s line of sight and use LRAD.

“Within two to three minutes after beginning to tell the subject to remove himself from the roof, he complied. He voluntarily used the ladder which had been provided early in the incident and he was subsequently placed into custody without incident.”
– Capt. Steve Brown

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department purchased an LRAD system through Homeland Security Grant funds under LETPP. It is maintained by the Emergency Planning Detail and primarily used by the Search and Rescue (SAR) Unit.

The LRAD system is used to issue safety advisories, warnings, and other emergency-related notifications and is recognized as a valuable tool for broadcasting announcements to specific locations without disturbing adjacent areas. The system is also deployed by SAR to call out to lost or missing persons in the canyons and hills of rural San Diego County.

The ERT confronted an armed gunman in a vehicle located approximately 100 meters from their position. ERT officers attempted to communicate with the gunman by shouting, but to no avail and the armed suspect opened fire. After exchanging gunfire, officers believed the gunman was wounded. However, since he had multiple high-powered weapons and had been returning fire, getting closer was not an option.

Officers used their LRAD 100X system to broadcast clear voice messages ordering the gunman to discard his weapons and come out of the vehicle. The gunman peacefully complied.