Residents in the Louisiana town of Crowley were quite disturbed the other night when they heard the siren from “The Purge” movie being blasted through the Acadia Parish.
Of course this wasn’t actually the go ahead for people to wreak havoc, but an old military alarm that their local police department chose to use to signal that the city’s 9 p.m. coronavirus-related curfew was to begin.
And now it seems police are apologizing for the bad idea after a bunch of residents immediately filed complaints against the warning sound, according to ABC News affiliate KATC.
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Crowley Police Chief Jimmy Broussard said he didn’t know about the connection to the movies and apologized, saying his officers won’t be using the siren again.
“I knew they had a curfew but no one was expecting to hear that siren,” said resident Ty Abshire told the station.
In the film series, the U.S. government sets up a holiday where all crimes, including murder and assault, are legal for 12 hours. The mayhem begins with the distinct siren sound.
Broussard explained want to use a regular police siren to alert residents to the curfew, and another officer told him to use an old military siren, which happened to be the same one used in “The Purge.”
“It was to remind people that this was a very serious matter,” he told the station.
Acadia Parish Sheriff K.P. Gibson issued a statement to KATC reiterating that officers did not intend to upset residents.
“We were not involved in the use of the ‘Purge Siren’ and will not utilize any type of siren for this purpose,” the statement said.
