If you haven’t seen any of The Purge movies, there’s a siren that signals the beginning of a 12-hour lawless period where all crimes — including murder — are legal. So when police in Louisiana used the very same Purge siren to signal the start of a night curfew, it’s no wonder that panic followed.
Police in Crowley, Louisiana drove around the city playing the siren to warn residents of the beginning of curfew. In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, the city has implemented a 9 pm to 6 am curfew. The city is located in Acacia Parish, which received the worst rating for the spread of the virus. Police are giving citations to those who violate curfew, and those traveling to or from work must have documentation from their employer.
When residents heard the siren go off in their neighborhood, many recognized the sound as the one from The Purge films.
A news station in Louisiana, KATC, shared a video of the sound blaring into empty streets, looking like a scene straight out of a horror movie. Following backlash from residents, Crowley Police chief Jimmy Broussard told KATC he had no idea the siren was used in The Purge movies. Their intention was to find a sound that was easy to differentiate from normal police sirens.
“Last night a ‘Purge Siren’ was utilized by the Crowley Police Department as part of their starting curfew. 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,” Acadia Parish Sheriff K.P. Gibson said in a statement to the news station.
Watch the video below to hear the siren:
