Idiot gets what's coming to him [lasers in the news]

Man gets 15 months in federal prison for aiming laser pointer at a CHP helicopter | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

Anyone see this item? It came up in my morning RSS feeds. Some punk aimed a laser at a police helicopter assisting a burglary investigation. I am not sure what made the pilot bug out (fear that the laser was a firearm sight, disorientation, or an understanding of the danger), but I'm glad they weren't hurt, hope the investigation wasn't compromised, and am very happy they caught the perpetrator.

Maybe some of the other idiots will see this article and think before they lase any aircraft.

its great that he got caught but bad news for laserists in the us. if things like that keep happening its only a matter of time before the us starts cracking down on lasers in general.

ndrew2505 said:

its great that he got caught but bad news for laserists in the us. if things like that keep happening its only a matter of time before the us starts cracking down on lasers in general.

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Yup! It's never good when an aircraft gets lased. I think it put's us one step closer to seeing some stricter laws.

ndrew2505 said:

its great that he got caught but bad news for laserists in the us. if things like that keep happening its only a matter of time before the us starts cracking down on lasers in general.

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This is very true!
I guess enjoy while you can, becasue in my mind one way or another there will eventually be a big crack down on powerfull lasers very soon.

After the thoughts of the officers' safety and the success of the investigation, that was my first concern. Stricter laws sadly seem inevitable.

I hope that strict punishment for felonies such as this will be seen as enough though.

It only takes a few idiots to screw it up for the rest of us!

It also happened in Pittsburg about two weeks ago. It's happening more and more often.

Ah good. Thats a good story that will hopefully make other guys think before press.

Sadly. I doubt it'll have much effect on rampant stupidity. Idiots who think doing stuff like this is a good idea aren't exactly the types who watch the news, after all.

It's actually an interesting point, I never considered that a pilot (or anyone) might think the laser being aimed at them was a site for a weapon. That's a very reasonable suspicion, especially for law enforcement. The guy def got what he deserved.

This is why i'm nervous about shining my beam into the sky, even if there are no aircraft around - SOMEONE might get pissed at you, or a cop could harass you. I'm sure there are plenty of people (even cops) who assume it's illegal to shine a laser into the sky.

I agree, stricter laws are innevitable, and really, they will sort of be needed as lasers get more powerful and truly DO become weapons. Even now, I'd say a "sidearm" that can blind someone fairly quickly is a pretty serious thing to be carrying around.

Do YOU want lots of idiots buying and playing with 2 and 3 watt lasers in the years to come? The only problem is the laws, who will be made by people who do not understand the technology, will be overly broad and hurt the hobbiest who poses no threat.

Instead of laws which punish illegal USE of lasers, they will probably focus on just banning lasers. Even now, the idea that you can't import a laser greater than 5mw into the US is absurd. It should be more like "any laser capable of burning," or have specific mw ranges for specific colors.

But that makes it too complicated so they just cast a wide net and hurt everyone.

'Burning' is very material specific.. and in all cases, Eye damage can be caused by lasers that can't 'burn' anything. In the range of wavelengths that the cornea passes, wavelength doesn't matter much either. 50mW of 500nm will cause as much damage as 50mW of 700nm.

that's the reason for the ban on NON APPROVED lasers over 5mw... though most people forget that this isn't a really a ban.. since lasers, even handhelds, with the proper safety features and paperwork (which isn't really hard to get if your not making the crap up your submitting to the FDA) are perfectly legal to both import and sell.