The LSU Police Department command center will no longer be confined within the walls of the Public Safety Building.
LSUPD has refurbished its mobile command unit with grant money from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, according to Lt. Marshall Walters.
“When we got [the unit], the inside was empty space and not conducive to its use. It looked like a ’70s bus,” Walters said. “We put in new walls, upgraded the generator, converted the back compartment into [a] small conference room with monitor hooked to satellites, and I’m working on installing cameras.”
LSUPD Spokesman Capt. Cory Lalonde said the unit will be used during planned events, such as football games and the Bayou Country Superfest, and for quick command and control capabilities in the event of a disaster like a hurricane or a shooter around campus.
Lalonde said the unit used to belong to the Baton Rouge Police Department, and BRPD Spokesman Cpl. L’Jean McKneely said BRPD uses its unit in the same way LSUPD plans to use its new one.
“We bring it out for large events in the area, or for a situation where officers will be in a particular location for a long time,” McKneely said. “We got the unit after Katrina for disaster instances to provide a central location in the field where commanding officers can assess the situation and make orders to officers on the scene.”
Walters said the mobile command center will make on-the-go police work more convenient.
“Meetings can be held in the back of the unit, and there are work stations to generate reports and pull info from the LSUPD database,” Walters said. “It will be a staging point for officers and first responders for briefing and set up details and push info out.”
Lalonde said the unit will first be used Friday during the Special Olympics opening ceremony.
