The cops saw my laser beam!

Yesterday in the late evening, it was pretty foggy in my town, so of course I was playing with my lasers. I did not point the laser close to cars etc. Nothing special happened, and I went inside to go to bed.
But about ten minutes later, I heard that someone was knocking very hard on my front door. I looked out of the window and saw a police car standing in my driveway! Of course I panicked, thought "what have I done!" and my heart started beating really hard. When I opened the door, I found a really harsh policewoman standing outside my there. She asked me If I had shone some laser thingy around, because thay had seen it and wondered what the heck it was! Well, what should I say? I told her that I had done that, and I also said that I was very cautious with it. I even showed it to her and the other police officers standing outside, and when they saw the amazing green beam of my x-85 they said "holy crap!" and even asked me where I got it. I never thought that the COPS would ask something like that! They said that it was okay, but that I should be very careful with it. When I later went to bed, I still was really scared!
  One downside with this meeting with the cops, though, is that if anyone in my town will see a very annoying green beam shine around, the cops will know exactly who it is.

lazerguy said:

I never thought that the COPS would ask something like that! They said that it was okay, but that I should be very careful with it.

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Great story! It's nice to hear that some cops can be OK, as long as you're honest with them. You must have been crapping your pants! I think that they must have thought that you're a reasonable and honest person, so if some other loser goes crazy with a greenie, they would be less likely to think it's you. Thanks for presenting a good face for the hobby! [smiley=thumbsup.gif] The more the authorities meet sensible laser hobbyists like yourself, the less they will demonize our hobby in general, (we can only hope).

Cheers, [smiley=beer.gif] CC

OMG LOL! xD

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujHES_dSn_8&feature=related[/media]
Pfft, "cops", what do they know... :


Kinda funny to hear how relaxed the cops were. In AU, they'll kill you! (not really)

At least on a foggy night you could grab a 5mW of you have one and show them that beam. That way theres no way to get in trouble.

Haha, funny video FireMyLaser! ;D
And MB500, yeah, that would be legal so you could be totally safe, but here in Sweden not many people know about lasers. I mean, If I were in the USA, the first thing the police would ask me would be if my laser was a class 3b laser. In Sweden, not even the cops know about the regulations with hi power lasers! I wouldn't want to live in Australia right now, the authorities would think that all laser enthusiasts are crazy idiots!

The first time I tried to be honest with a cop, I went to jail (for 6 hrs). Long story. Anyway, I assume that you haven't had much experience with police confrontations. It really doesn’t faze me anymore. Well I live in California and most cops around here really love F-ing your life up. I would NEVER admit to something like that because I know I’d get hauled away (although they’re not even illegal!) or they would defiantly confiscate it. For my experiences, the bad confrontations vs the good confrontations… let’s just say police officers have ruined their credibility with me. I really can’t stand them and find it extremely hard to respect them after several unjust crap they’ve pulled on me. I know my rights! Too bad some cops believe we deserve none. A bunch of bad apples spoiled them all.

Sorry for my ranting. Glad to hear that your incident was good. Now you must be extra careful because they know who you are, and they know where you live!

Ace82 said:

Sorry for my ranting.  Glad to hear that your incident was good.  Now you must be extra careful because they know who you are, and they know where you live!

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That is exactly what worries me since I live in a pretty small town. And I knew that the cops in the USA are pretty rough, but I didn't think that they were actually trying to spoil a person's life on purpose!

i've also had a cop look at and even PLAY with my laser. they don't even care, they just think it's awesome

Yes, that is one good thing about this hobby: people think that it is pretty weird to spend tons of money on a laser, but a laser (especially a green one) will still have that "WOW" effect on most people

Just now, one of my lady coworkers has a crystal leaf for holding candy on her desk. Needless to say what I did, she said, cool! Then I told her I spent $17 on it and she was like, WHAT? She thought that was WAY too much money for a laser! Then she said, what do you use it for, I just said, "It must be my nerdy geek side", she said "oh".

HumanSymphony said:

i've also had a cop look at and even PLAY with my laser. they don't even care, they just think it's awesome  

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"A" cop cannot be accounted for all cops, or referring to them as "they".  You were lucky you found a good one (or a good one found you).  Do not assume they are all cool because one was.  At least that is how it has to be around here.  You need to be wise, confident, show no fear, respectful, obeying, and convincing.  

This topic is very passionate for me so I better stop now.
:-X

-Peace Ace

Most cops are bad and rotten characters. But there are always a few good fish in the barrel. The best thing to do when talking to a cop is remember that they are an actual person too. Even if they are supposed to act professional about things, im sure they still felt a little giddy inside when they saw your laser's powerful beam.

If a cop ever comes to your house asking about your laser you should bring out a dx true 30 with a 5mw sticker on it. That way you can claim that your laser is fully legal and it will be no major loss if they confiscate it.

haha true, true.

Guess it depends.. some might just be curious, and others will try to find some offence to make their ticket quota no matter what.

Interestingly cops here point lasers right in the face of drivers all day to measure speed and write tickets. Although the beam from those laserguns is infrared, i actually wonder how much punch it has.

I'm quite sure the cops must notice me poiting lasers outside as well as i live in a rather tall building and beams coming from near the top floor definitely attract attention. Not only from police but also neighbours a few floors up or down sometimes wonder what the hell is going on - just hope they wont call the cops

That comment right there brings me to my next point. I HATE cops who deny the whole ticket quota thing. Almost every single cop i have known very well has told me about i, but every time there is one at my school answering questions at the end of a boring speach i always ask them that question just to piss them off ;D