The Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office rolls out new technology aimed at notifying drivers of nearby pursuits. Vehicles in the department are being equipped with the Pursuit Alert Digital Siren. Sheriff Brett Stassi says it allows deputies to press a single button to notify drivers of pursuits.
“If you’re coming down LA 1, and we have stopped on the shoulder of the road with a car, with our lights on, it’s going to send an alert, to people that have the app, that we are ahead of them,” Stassi explained.
The app is available for free on Apple and Android devices. It was on LA 1 on New Year’s Eve 2022 where 17-year-old Maggie Dunn and 16-year-old Caroline Gill were killed by Addis Police Officer David Cauthron, who was driving 86 miles an hour while pursuing the driver of a stolen vehicle. Gill’s father, Jason, is thankful that the sheriff’s office is rolling out this technology.
“We can’t stop pursuits. Pursuits are going to happen. But we have to keep everybody safe in those pursuits,” Gill said.
The system was developed by Tim Morgan, the CEO of Pursuit Alert Digital Siren. He says he hopes his technology will be so widespread that it will eventually no longer be necessary to download an app to receive the alerts.
“We’re trying to get more endpoints to receive the alerts. We’re in conversations with some automakers,” Morgan said.
The system can also notify drivers of missing people, especially children, in a manner faster than an AMBER Alert.