Louisiana police have apologized for using the eerie siren made popular by horror film The Purge to signal a 9 p.m. coronavirus curfew.
The scary sound in the movie symbolizes the beginning of a government-sanctioned block of time when crime, including murder, is legal. A Louisiana police car left onlookers uneasy after they saw one rolling by and heard the chilling sound emanating from the vehicle.
Residents of Acadia Parish are currently under a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, during which citizens aren’t allowed to leave their homes. If they do, they risk receiving a citation.
On April 2, Shreveport resident Adam John Schexnayder shared a video of the cop car passing by an Acadia Parish home on Facebook.
“Y’all, if Shreveport plays this sound, my anxiety will not survive,” he wrote. “These crazies will think it’s actually The Purge.”
A video of the scene from another angle was also shared on TikTok by user @jerriecradeur.
Crowley Police Chief Jimmy Broussard said he had no idea the sound was associated with the movie, and won’t use any noise moving forward, he told KATC-TV.
“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,” reads a statement by Sheriff K.P. Gibson.
“We were not involved in the use of the ‘Purge Siren’ and will not utilize any type of siren for this purpose.”
The police department’s since-deleted Facebook post provided the reasoning behind the curfew but didn’t mention a siren being used, according to KATC-TV.
“Acadia Parish received the worse rating for the rapid spread of the virus. It has been put into place in order try and slow the spread. There is nothing anyone needs to be on the roads for besides emergency situations,” it read.
“If you don’t want to comply with the orders of the Sheriff and the Chiefs, you will be dealt with accordingly.”
As of Wednesday, Louisiana had the fifth-highest amount of coronavirus cases in the U.S. at more than 16,000 confirmed cases and 582 deaths.
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