Louisiana

Voice-activated system can’t translate drawls

Southern drawls have thwarted voice recognition equipment used by the Shreveport Police Department to route nonemergency calls.

A switchover to a lower-tech, touch-tone system — in which callers hear a voice recording they can respond to by pressing a different number for each division — is scheduled for today, said spokeswoman Kaycee Hargrave.

The voice-recognition system asked people to name the person or department they wanted. More often than not, the system just didn’t understand, and they wound up at the wrong place, said Capt. John Dunn, who oversees police communications.

“In Louisiana, we have a problem with Southern drawl and what I call lazy mouth. Because of that, the system often doesn’t recognize what (callers) say,” he said.

California

Police officer, gunman killed in shootout

A gunfight erupted in downtown Burbank during what began as a routine traffic stop, killing a gunman and a police officer and wounding a second officer.

A second gunman was being sought Sunday in this Los Angeles suburb.

The shootout happened about 6:30 p.m. Saturday when the officers pulled over a sport utility vehicle, said police Sgt. William Berry. He did not say what the nature of the stop was.

Officer Matthew Pavelka, 26, died in surgery Saturday night, police spokeswoman Lyn DeBoeven said. Officer Gregory Campbell, 41, was in critical condition Sunday.

Berry said both officers were wearing bulletproof vests.

Oklahoma

Steel guitar pioneer Speedy West dies

Wesley Webb “Speedy” West, of Broken Arrow, whose innovative steel-guitar licks made him one of the best on the instrument, died Saturday. He was 79.

West was born in Springfield, Mo., and moved to the West Coast after World War II. He eventually landed a job with the popular western-swing band of Oklahoma expatriate Spade Cooley.

Taking a cue from recording star Alvino Rey, who introduced the pedal-steel guitar to pop audiences, West had a custom instrument that featured three necks and four pedals. He became the first country-music steel-guitarist to use pedals.

West produced the last album for country star Johnny Horton and the first for Loretta Lynn.