Town Uses Purge Siren to Mark Coronavirus Curfew

In The Purge and its sequels, a siren marks the start of a 12-hour period in which all crimes, including murder, are legal. Police in a Louisiana town apparently hadn't seen the movies. A siren just like the Purge one was used in recent days to signal the start of a 9pm to 6am curfew intended to stop the spread of the coronavirus in Crowley, Acadia Parish, Variety reports. Police Chief Jimmy Broussard tells KATC that officers, who drove around town playing the noise, used an old military siren. He says he had no idea the siren was associated with the horror movies and officers will not be using any siren to mark the curfew in the future.

Acadia Parish Sheriff KP Gibson urged the public to speak to the Crowley Police Department, not his office. "Last night a 'Purge Siren' was utilized by the Crowley Police Department as part of their starting curfew," he said in a statement. "We have received numerous complaints with the belief that our agency was involved in this process." Crowley police say residents will receive citations if they leave their homes during the curfew. (More The Purge stories.)