They have (also known as an "LRAD")

https://genasys.com/video/buffalo-ny-pd-acquire-lrad-500x-fo...

I know it was deployed in the past month Buffalo, Portland, Seattle, New York and Washington DC at least, and I'm sure many more police departments have used it.

These should be banned along with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash grenades. The indiscriminate nature and damage these weapons cause is the definition of excessive force.

EDIT: Sorry, was mistaken. ADS is not the same as LRAD - though neither should be in the hands of local police departments.

Fortunately not the same devices. The ADS gives people the sensation their skin is burning. From wikipedia:

> The ADS works by firing a high-powered (100 kW output power) beam of 95 GHz waves at a target, which corresponds to a wavelength of 3.2 mm. The ADS millimeter wave energy works on a similar principle as a microwave oven, exciting the water and fat molecules in the skin, and instantly heating them via dielectric heating.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Denial_System

I think using the word "sensation" is even downplaying things. Their skin is burning. People are drowning. It just (usually) stops before permanent injury or death.

Different systems. LRAD is acoustic, ADS is radio frequency heating.

Compared to less-than-lethal means like rubber bullets, beanbags, and tasers, acute RF exposure at reasonable distances and safety margins causes quite a bit less physical damage while making those exposed very, very uncomfortable.

However, the video demonstration shows testing on volunteers, with the ADS at a great distance, following strict safety protocols. In the wrong hands, things could quickly change. I don't want to imagine what 100kW of directed 95GHz RF can do to skin at a distance of tens of meters on trapped or immobilized targets for long exposure durations. It could not only be lethal, but an instrument of torture.

The ADS is way worse than anything else because its potential for abuse. Police appear to abuse any tool they are given. They shoot protestors directly with tear gas grenades, aim for the face with rubber bullets, and pepper spray people in the face that are already prone and in handcuffs.

From the wikipedia page on the ADS: "..may lead those who use them to become "trigger-happy", especially in dealing with peaceful protesters. Others have focused on concerns that weapons whose operative principle is that of inflicting pain (though "non-lethal") might be useful for such purposes as torture, as they leave no evidence of use, but undoubtedly have the capacity to inflict horrific pain on a restrained subject. According to Wired, the ADS has been rejected for fielding in Iraq due to Pentagon fears that it would be regarded as an instrument of torture.[54]"

Is that a microwave cannon? What happens if people don't move?

Their skin burns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_burn

That's horrifying. And it yet again feels irresponsible to be selling this as a somehow safe method of crowd dispersal when in reality it's just a low power long range flamethrower.

Hopefully they're not wearing any metal earrings, piercings, etc that are exposed to the waves.

To cops that's a feature, not a bug.

Or if they are trapped their skin gets literally cooked.