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Iberville Sheriff's Office unveils new system to notify drivers of active pursuits, closures
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PLAQUEMINE — The Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office on Tuesday unveiled its new Pursuit Alert system, which they say will notify motorists of active law enforcement pursuits, road hazards, and road closures in their area.
The Digital Siren system will be available through the Pursuit Alert app that will provide real-time notifications to drivers.
"The cost is minimal for an agency to do this," Sheriff Brett Stassi said, noting that he is asking all law enforcement agencies that can afford it to put this software in their vehicles. "This can save lives."
Stassi says it was a fatal crash that took the lives of 17-year-old Maggie Dunn and 16-year-old Caroline Gill in 2022, when a high-speed chase led officers from Baton Rouge into West Baton Rouge. The crash that killed the two girls involved an unrelated vehicle, which led them to investigate new technology.
Stassi says this comes after the a fatal crash in 2022, that took the lives of two teens
The sheriff said that the office's units will be the first in the state to be outfitted with the new system to notify those with the app near a pursuit or other law enforcement activity within a three-mile radius.
"We have to do everything we can to minimize the danger to our citizens, who we are here to protect anyway. This is just one step in what we can do to make sure we are doing everything we can," Stassi said.
The system can also be used to notify the public of missing persons.
"Everybody knows that the AMBER Alert takes some time," Stassi said. "This is something that my supervision crew on the street that night can send out immediately to get people to come out."
Stassi said the introduction of Pursuit Alert comes after a police chase originating from Port Allen ended in a crash in Brusly over the weekend. Family members of the victims joined Stassi and other officials at the news conference.
"There are no good pursuits like there's no good wars," Stassi said. "But we're gonna have pursuits like we're gonna have wars. So we have to do everything we can to minimize the danger to our citizens, whom we are here to protect anyway."
Pursuit Alert's Tim Morgan said that the system will help law enforcement to provide a safe community.
"Sheriff Stassi is demonstrating his commitment to the people of Iberville Parish by being the first Sheriff in Louisiana to deploy the latest alerting technology to warn the public when near an approaching emergency vehicle or high speed pursuit, the two most dangerous interactions officers have with the uninvolved public," Morgan said. "I applaud Sheriff Stassi for his leadership in adding this layer of protection for everyone's safety."
The families of the victims say they hope more sheriff's offices will invest in the technology.
"You can't put a price on life. And the little cost that the sheriff, you know, was $10,000 for 40 vehicles, I mean, to me, it's a no-brainer," he said.
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