All the stuff your local police confiscated from you.

[borgqueenx]

Its funny he got his laser back....im glad for him though...

But at the mini laser meeting there was a guy who said pointers were illigal outside of your private property....in the netherlands.
And where did you get this info?

Im crazy of all these talk about legal or not legal. Is there a definitive answer?

 

[mod101]

Reading this thread really made me angry at police in general. I really feel like some internal reform is needed but I have no idea how that would be accomplished.

I'm also considering going down to either the court house or the police station in my area and ask about regulations of lasers because 'I am considering building some'

 

[borgqueenx]

Anyways nanolaser do you want to share your end of the story?

 

[AUTO XX]

Reading this thread really made me angry at police in general. I really feel like some internal reform is needed but I have no idea how that would be accomplished.

I'm also considering going down to either the court house or the police station in my area and ask about regulations of lasers because 'I am considering building some'

Best to avoid them, if you put yourself on their radar they might keep an eye on you.
Police in general are not your friends or allies.
A few years ago I asked a cop (I was walking, not talking to one writing me a ticket) when the last time he helped someone was.
He thought for a few seconds and then made up a story about pulling a lady from a car crash, he had mentioned she said her neck hurt so I asked him if he really risked permanent spinal injury to her to get her out.
The story then changed to he "helped the paramedics pull her out", then he told me to "F^ck off" when I looked skeptical. :crackup:
That single encounter taught me that they are no longer here to help, they are here to justify their job, to collect a "tax" from motorists, and to throw their authority around.
I wouldn't call for the cops if someone was threatening me with a gun...
They would probably shoot the innocent person and claim "he's comin' right for us Ned!!"
Stay out of their line of sight, don't cause a ruckus, and always have a cover story. I keep the flashlight drop-in with my 445nm laser for the specific reason that I can swap over to it if the cops come around.
A blue flashlight they can't say $#!T about, the laser has a poor rep and should be avoided in conversation.
Play dumb :crackup:
"A laser? Oh yeah, that would be so cool"

 

[hxdrummerxc]

Well,
I just had my first ever experience with cops the other day. (never had a ticket, or anything on my record. Ive been driving for about 5 years.)
And it was not fun at all...

I can't explain the whole story in detail right now. I will probably post a topic about it in the "Safety and Legal section" eventually.
But I will try to sum it down to the best of my ability. Its a huge story, so making it short it hard.

But I did get my 445nm Laser taken away. Not getting it back either.
Not for reasons that one would normally expect either.
I am very cautious with my lasers. I never point them at people, aircraft, houses or anything like that.

Long story short (Well the shortest that I can explain it for now). We were driving down a road (I was not driving). One that isn't ever busy, and doesn't even have street lights. Also its more in the "country-ish" than in a main city area (I would never shine my laser out of a vehicle in a populated city area). It was dark and snowing, and I was shining my 445nm Laser out of the car. Mainly just hitting the ditch to the right of the road. Then a few minutes later, it appeared as if we were being followed. We got to where we were going and the car followed us into the driveway. It happened to be an off-duty officer.

My Laser was confiscated, and I was told that I was impersonating a police officer by using a blue light that appeared to look like police lights. He told me that I would probably be charged with impersonating an officer and also get a ticket. We went up to the police station, had a talk with them and the officer that I guess pulled us over. They said that after talking with me, that they believe that I made a mistake and I wasn't intending to impersonate an emergency vehicle. They decided not to try and claim a charge for impersonating a police officer. They gave me a ticket for Civil Infraction, and they kept the laser. So with the ticket and the custom built laser, im out about $300 bucks.

It sucks bad, but Its a lesson learned. And at least the cops were nice enough to let me go on a Civil Infraction and leave it at that.

Let this be a warning to everyone. Even when your on a country road. Never shine your laser out of a vehicle.
In this case it wasn't so much the laser, but the color and the fact that he thought I was an emergency vehicle, until I passed him.

 

[mod101]

That really sucks to get your laser taken away like that. I tend to not shoot my lasers of cars just because of the possiblilty of having a bad reflection come back and hit me.

Although it sounds complete to be charged for impersonating and even a civil infraction, it may just be best to leave it alone like you said.

Thanks for the advice though, may your future lasers not be taken away.

 

[AUTO XX]

Contest it.
Fight it in court even though it seems like it might be scary.
The experience you gain will be invaluable even if you don't win.
Say stuff like, I'm sorry, I learned my lesson, I am really interested in the hobby and have good ideas for the future.
If nothing else it will give you courtroom experience for if you get any tickets and more likely than not, if you make the effort of going into court it will be dropped and you will get your laser back.
Tell the judge that you were just excited about building your first ever laser and your enthusiasm got the best of you.
State your case that it was a vacant road and you were just interested in the effect on various surfaces.
Don't bring any emotion into it, there is no place for emotion in court because people that are lying use emotion and the judges see right through it.
Points to emphasize:
You are new to the field
You built it yourself (even if that is stretching the truth)
It was very expensive to build and is not a toy
You have learned your lesson
I have also found that launching into a very technical monologue about wavelength, frequency, visual acuity, etc. tends to make people look at you like you are an eccentric genius and will probably amount to something great :crackup:
This could work in your favor but might be pushing it :na:
Court really isn't that big of a deal, rational people tend to do better than stupid people that keep committing criminal acts (and that is what the judge sees all the time).
Don't let the threat of additional charges scare you either, they dropped those charges because they were ridiculous and just make the cops look like a$$holes for trying to charge you with them.

 

[hxdrummerxc]

Well thats what we were afraid of.
We didn't want to try and fight it, and then loose and have them try and charge me for the impersonating a police officer.

I also already paid the ticket, by doing so "you waive your right to a trial"
So its also to late for that...

I did build that laser myself, and it also was my first build. (Other than green, and green is easier to build). Im just accepting the fact thats its gone.

My main worry is that someone now has it, that shouldn't have it.
They were trying to use it while we were at the station, and they were pushing in the lens trying to turn it on. Then they almost turned it on while it was facing upwards towards their face, and I said "don't point it at your face!"

But once the 14500 rechargeable batteries die, they wouldn't be able to recharge it. Most people would think "it looks like a AAA" and try and put a AAA in here. Which is only 1.5v and probably wont do much at all.

 

[borgqueenx]

Well thats what we were afraid of.
We didn't want to try and fight it, and then loose and have them try and charge me for the impersonating a police officer.

I also already paid the ticket, by doing so "you waive your right to a trial"
So its also to late for that...

I did build that laser myself, and it also was my first build. (Other than green, and green is easier to build). Im just accepting the fact thats its gone.

My main worry is that someone now has it, that shouldn't have it.
They were trying to use it while we were at the station, and they were pushing in the lens trying to turn it on. Then they almost turned it on while it was facing upwards towards their face, and I said "don't point it at your face!"

But once the 14500 rechargeable batteries die, they wouldn't be able to recharge it. Most people would think "it looks like a AAA" and try and put a AAA in here. Which is only 1.5v and probably wont do much at all.

to make a long quote short: they are dumb fucks and dont even know what they confiscate....?

-_-

 

[mod101]

Maybe they'll be idots and blind themselves, its not like they can charge you with assault after they confiscated it :angel:
I'm starting to really develop an extreme dislike of police in general...

 

[rambler]

Now, now asshole is what asshole does:thanks: I feel so protected eh and served

 

[AUTO XX]

Riddle me this.
If a police officer turns it on and blinds someone/them self, who are they going to sue?
Probably going to go after the manufacturer.
That would be YOU!
Now you have a potentially dangerous tool in the hands of people that have chosen their profession SPECIFICALLY because they are seldom responsible for their actions.
In the future, the first thing to do would be pull the battery, the second would be to pull the guts out of it (if you can disassemble it before he gets to you).
Hindsight is 20/20, I'm very sorry for your loss but these guys sound like the kind of people I wouldn't trust with a pair of scissors let alone a high powered laser.
The fact that they have guns is terrifying.
The laser is supposed to be in a sealed bag, not tampered with, in a locked room, etc.
Them "playing" with YOUR property is worth going to war over as far as I'm concerned. That's just crap.
Again, sorry to hear that they got away with it. Is there any way you could get your laser back?
Might be worth going to the cop shop and asking what the process would be.
If it disappeared you might be able to get IA into the action and get some retribution.
If you couldn't tell I have had enough of the cops' tactics and decided to go one the offensive :crackup: , the laws should protect us from criminals, not harm us directly.
What was the charge if you don't mind sharing? If it was distracting other drivers or whatever they call it, it really has nothing to do with the laser. You should be able to get it back, I don't know the laws concerning this sort of thing but it might be worth doing a bit of reading.
Don't just lay down, most tickets are for revenue generating purposes, if it will cost them more to prosecute than it will be worth IF you pay.... It makes you what my old cop friend calls a deadbeat :na:
He was an old school cop (runs the armory now) and admits that most of the young cops these days should never be on the street.
I liked Nano's approach to it, call these guys out on their crap!
He went on the offensive and got his property back because he made the cops look bad.
Go stir up a hornets nest and see what pops up, these people work for YOU ^_^

 

[hxdrummerxc]

AUTO XX, sent pm.

Its to late to fight the ticket, not sure if I can fight for the laser separately.

I will say this..... I love this hobby. And this incident will not stop my love for this hobby. I already plan on building another 445nm in the next couple months at least.

 

[Krogith]

@AUTO XX, Do you think you could just Screw out the focus lens and take it off and just show them it's a blue flashlight... Whats the harm of owning a blue Rectangle shaped flashlight?:crackup:

 

[AUTO XX]

Its true but if they confiscate your "flashlight" and someone that knows it is a laser sees it, you have also lied to the cop.
Judges frown on that.
I have the flashlight drop in when I use it outdoors (from the truck) because then it IS just a blue led flashlight.
The laser component is tucked safely away in my glove box on the pretense that I was getting my registration and proof of insurance.
Unscrewing the lens WOULD do 2 things though, it isn't a laser "beam" and it isn't nearly as dangerous with maximum divergence.
Handy things to know are:
Blue light lets you track an animal's blood trail when you are hunting.
Blue light "reaches" farther than white does at the same power output.
Knowing those things adds credibility to your cover story

This is the difference in color.

*sorry for the poor quality blue pic, I ran over my olympus "tough" 8000 with a 3/4ton pickup truck and it failed its "crushproof" claim.
It fell out of my pocket when I was working on the truck and got covered in a bit of snow...
Waterproof? YES
Freezeproof? YES
Shockproof? YES
Crushproof? no

 

[borgqueenx]

Ive read enough. I suggest we ask a cop who is registered to come forth.
Auto xx wants to date you!