21 year old arrested for hitting an aircraft with a laser

Some dick head who lives not to far from me was recently arrested after illuminating a private jet with a 532 laser. The pilots alerted the authorities and when a police chopper was dispatched the moron proceeded to illuminate the chopper as well. Of course they found him and ground units were dispatched to arrest him.
Outrage Over Laser Incident, Federal Charges Eyed - Smithtown, NY Patch

This incident is unfortunately getting a lot of media coverage on Long Island and I have decided to keep my lasers indoors for a little while until this thing fades away. It may sound like I'm being paranoid but I feel like with this thing fresh in peoples minds some passerby is going to see me using my laser at night and immediately call the police even though I'm obviously not lasing aircraft.
Luckily my neighbors have all been fine with my lasers so far but you never know when some nosey bastard is going to freak out and call the cops. Even if I'm not doing anything wrong the cops around here (the highest paid in the country) will come up with some bullshit reason to slap me with a charge and confiscate my lasers.
1 bad apple spoils the bunch and it is morons like this that give responsible laser hobbyists like all of us a bad name. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

I think there is already a thread about that. http://laserpointerforums.com/f53/another-genius-gets-arrested-misuse-laser-pointer-69607.html

Oh sorry about that.

No problem, hapens to the best of us.:beer:

sopark4000 said:

It may sound like I'm being paranoid but I feel like with this thing fresh in peoples minds some passerby is going to see me using my laser at night and immediately call the police even though I'm obviously not lasing aircraft.
Luckily my neighbors have all been fine with my lasers so far but you never know when some nosey bastard is going to freak out and call the cops. Even if I'm not doing anything wrong the cops around here (the highest paid in the country) will come up with some bullshit reason to slap me with a charge and confiscate my lasers.
1 bad apple spoils the bunch and it is morons like this that give responsible laser hobbyists like all of us a bad name.

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Seems all the bad juju hangs around 532nm.. I have not looked recently, but have
yet to hear anything other than 532 being used for such a foolish activity.
Stick with your reds and blu(e)'s and it should help a little.

Even though you are not targeting aircraft, if you're using anything >5mW, technically
you are breaking the law. Outdoors with >5mW requires a variance from the FDA,
just not sure how the locals could or would enforce it.

99% of my laser use is indoors with the occasional outdoor use. For me, being in
a house in a densely populated area will eventually attract the wrong attention.

All you need to be known as, is 'that guy down the street with beams in the yard'.
All it takes is somebody board and shining at a neighbors house and you end up
with the cops at the door asking questions.

I know i'll be having a lot more fun when I finally move out to the sticks.

Might be a good idea to keep a 5mW with you just in case...

wannaburn said:

Seems all the bad juju hangs around 532nm.. I have not looked recently, but have
yet to hear anything other than 532 being used for such a foolish activity.
Stick with your reds and blu(e)'s and it should help a little.

Click to expand...

I've noticed the same thing. It's obviously due to cheap over spec chinese greens being available all over the place. I also haven't found anything about reds or blues in the news.

wannaburn said:

Even though you are not targeting aircraft, if you're using anything >5mW, technically
you are breaking the law. Outdoors with >5mW requires a variance from the FDA,
just not sure how the locals could or would enforce it.

Click to expand...

I know

wannaburn said:

All you need to be known as, is 'that guy down the street with beams in the yard'.
All it takes is somebody board and shining at a neighbors house and you end up
with the cops at the door asking questions.

Click to expand...

Exactly. I worry that with lasers fresh in peoples minds somebody who on any other day would just ignore it would now call the cops freaking out.

wannaburn said:

Might be a good idea to keep a 5mW with you just in case...

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It's really funny that you happen to say that. When ever I'm using a laser in my yard or off of my property I carry the WL core that I got for free just in case something happens and the cops show up I can try and pass that piece of crap off as the laser I was using instead of possibly having a several hundred dollar laser confiscated. I've actually been considering buying a low price blue to carry with me when using my high power blues. I figure if (knock on wood) the cops ever did show up if I was cooperative with them confiscating my decoy they would just figure they got my laser and leave.
In the end I'm still going to keep my lasers indoors until this thing fades away, better safe than sorry.

When I lived in NJ I had set up a simple multi-mirror shape generator (I don't remember what it is actually called, it just made spirals and basic effects) and I projected my 5mW green against the side of MY HOUSE one night while testing it out....

Four of my neighbors called the cops on me. Thankfully I knew the police chief and he gave me a call first to check up on things, when I explained what actually went on he dismissed everything and told me that I had best keep my toys in doors. I took it all inside and set it up inside, and one neighbor called the cops on me again, saying he could see my "light beams" inside my windows. In the end I just decided to shelv my lasers, it wasn't worth losing them or going to jail. I wound up owing the chief a case of beer for his help - I got off super easy. My lasers sat abandoned for about 2 years.

I'm so glad I live in the country now, my nearest neighbor is more than a mile away, and I only have 3 neighbors.

I dunno how everyone else's best friends feel, but my dog HATES lasers. He sees any glowing little spot and POOF he's hiding under the covers with my wife.

I never pointed them near him - honestly, I couldn't have, he was gone too fast - and I know my kids never get to the lasers, i don't keep the batteries with them. Expect my 5mw Spell-checking WL Core...

Sopark - I'm in Massapequa, where you at?

Huntington

sopark4000 said:

Some dick head who lives not to far from me was recently arrested after illuminating a private jet with a 532 laser. The pilots alerted the authorities and when a police chopper was dispatched the moron proceeded to illuminate the chopper as well. Of course they found him and ground units were dispatched to arrest him.
Outrage Over Laser Incident, Federal Charges Eyed - Smithtown, NY Patch

This incident is unfortunately getting a lot of media coverage on Long Island and I have decided to keep my lasers indoors for a little while until this thing fades away. It may sound like I'm being paranoid but I feel like with this thing fresh in peoples minds some passerby is going to see me using my laser at night and immediately call the police even though I'm obviously not lasing aircraft.

Click to expand...

Where did this guy live for 21 years...:thinking:
In a dark hole with no radio or TV or computer...:thinking:

That is not unfortunate... that is a good thing... The more the media
reports on it... the more the MORONS out there will be made aware
of the consequences of their stupid acts...
They should be :banned: from society for a while until common sense
kicks in...

Here's a pic of the Genius....




Jerry

Obviously these morons need to be punished but this kind of thing is bad publicity for the laser hobby. In the end responsible laser hobbyists will be penalized for the acts of these morons. More bad publicity will result in more regulations limiting the ability to own lasers.

lasersbee said:

Here's a pic of the Genius....

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:crackup::crackup::crackup::crackup::crackup:

I don't know what's funnier, how well he passes for a stereotypical punk kid, or the dumbfounded/scared look on his face.

This time he is 21. He is not a kid ,he should no better. But he might get charged with some terrorism charges? A little overkill, but oh well at least it well decrease the chances of it happening again because of the big charges. ( Even though we always say that, and a dumbass just does it again.)

My dog is odd when it comes to lasers. As a puppy 'chasing the spot' of a 5mW red was a favorite game. Now days some times she'll ignore it, sometimes she'll go after it, and sometimes she'll just go hide in another room and peer at me around the corner until I put it up. But then again i've had more than a few people tell me my dog is psychotic. heh. Another good example of this.. She freaks out over power outages too.

GoolGaul said:

I dunno how everyone else's best friends feel, but my dog HATES lasers. He sees any glowing little spot and POOF he's hiding under the covers with my wife.

I never pointed them near him - honestly, I couldn't have, he was gone too fast - and I know my kids never get to the lasers, i don't keep the batteries with them. Expect my 5mw Spell-checking WL Core...

Sopark - I'm in Massapequa, where you at?

Click to expand...

wannaburn said:

Even though you are not targeting aircraft, if you're using anything >5mW, technically
you are breaking the law. Outdoors with >5mW requires a variance from the FDA,
just not sure how the locals could or would enforce it.

Click to expand...

No, it does not require a license and no you are not breaking the law. I wish folks would stop and read the rules before promulgating falsehoods. Technically you are not breaking the law because there is no law covering what the individual laser owner does just for there own amusement, specifically meaning shining a >5mw into the sky.

steve001 said:

No, it does not require a license and no you are not breaking the law. I wish folks would stop and read the rules before promulgating falsehoods. Technically you are not breaking the law because there is no law covering what the individual laser owner does just for there own amusement, specifically meaning shining a >5mw into the sky.

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Just speaking from posts ive read, but does that not count as public display?
The OP was concerned like most of us, that johnny law will find a reason to make your life
difficult. Even more so when some meathead nearby is targeting aircraft..

All the same, I would not recommend drawing unwanted attention. :beer: