The Jefferson Parish (La.) Sheriff’s Department has purchased a command and communication vehicle from LDV Inc. The unit was used recently during a critical incident in which a Gretna man held his two young sons hostage.

Jefferson Parish SD spent $320,000 on the vehicle, and LDV says the vehicle is extremely versatile.“Many agencies have far more use [for mobile command vehicles] than just a major incident,” says Larry La Guardia, LDV division director. “They’re used for community policing, at planned events, at almost every major football game, when the world soccer championships were here, and at every major automobile race. They’re used to monitor the crowd, watch traffic patterns, and also dispatch officers and equipment to designated locations.”

Features on the new Jefferson Parish command include different types of radios and phones as well as low-light capable video cameras that can be raised on a mast, rotated 360 degrees. In addition, the vehicle has a dispatch center, a weather station, halogen floodlights, an intercom system, televisions, video cameras, a satellite dish, a computer networking system, a security system, and Internet access.