Missouri Highway Patrol isn’t really looking for the Joker
An emergency alert that hit Missouri phones on Tuesday listed a vehicle in ‘Gotham City’ that matched the year and model of the Joker-themed vehicles used in the 1989 film. Batman – what seemed like a strange thing to appear on the statewide system supposed to alert residents to events such as child abductions and impending dangers.
The alert exploding in the phones detailed a purple/green 1978 Dodge 3700GT – the same car Joker’s henchmen used to chase Batman through the streets of Gotham in the movie. The alert also included the “UKIDME” license plate, which seems like the sort of thing the Joker would do.
Ultimately, while the alert was indeed an authentic message from the Missouri Highway Patrol’s emergency alert system, the message was a test and was never intended for public release.
Anyway, someone pressed the wrong button.
“Today, a routine test of Missouri’s Blue Alert system was inadvertently sent to wireless devices across the state,” the patrol said in a statement posted to its website shortly after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. “During the test, an option was incorrectly selected, which allowed the message to be broadcast to the public. There is no emergency alert at this time. The patrol appreciates the public’s understanding and support for the emergency alert program.”
Here is a screenshot of the initial alert.
After a subsequent alert quashing the Emergency Alert, Patrol also took to Twitter to clarify that this was not an alert related to vehicular activity from Gotham’s Clown Prince.
This was supposed to be a test message, THERE WAS NO ALERT. pic.twitter.com/VZMfEHI28c
— MSHP General HQ (@MSHPTroperGHQ) January 18, 2022
Follow Danny Wicentowski on Twitter at @D_Towski. Email the author at Danny.Wicentowski@RiverfrontTimes.com
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