Pittsburgh police are defending their use of the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) to control crowds of protesters in Lawrenceville and Oakland during last month's G-20 economic summit.
Police say the LRAD -- essentially a highly-technical loudspeaker system mounted atop a SWAT vehicle -- uses loud noise to get people moving after warnings to disperse have been ignored.
Carnegie Mellon University visiting professor Karen Piper told Channel 4 Action News that she was doing research about globalization and was not there to protest.
Piper said the loud noise ruptured her eardrum and caused major damage.
"The problem is the long-term hearing loss and there's nothing they can do about that," said Piper, who plans to speak to an attorney.
