Sonic gun 'like a root canal,' former G20 protester says

G20 protester Albert Petrarca blocks a Pittsburgh police truck last fall carrying a long-range acoustic device, or LRAD, designed to disperse unruly crowds with piercing sound. Toronto police have bought four LRADs in preparation for the G20 summit here.

G20 protester Albert Petrarca blocks a Pittsburgh police truck last fall carrying a long-range acoustic device, or LRAD, designed to disperse unruly crowds with piercing sound. Toronto police have bought four LRADs in preparation for the G20 summit here.

John Goddard Staff Reporter

“Like a root canal” is how G20 protester Albert Petrarca describes the piercing sounds he endured from Pittsburgh police last fall.

“It moves from side to side,” he recalled Thursday of a directional, sonic crowd-dispersal tool introduced at the last summit conference.

“When the (sound) beam moves away from you, it’s annoying background noise,” he said. “When it’s directed at you it’s noxious.”

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