yet another idiot in our back yard with a laser

[wesdaman14]

From KSTP Channel 5 website
By: Nicole Muehlhausen, Web Producer

Eagan man arrested for pointing laser at helicopter


A State Patrol helicopter was forced to land in the Twin Cities after police said someone shined a laser into the pilot’s eyes.



The chopper had been over northeast Minneapolis late Sunday night. The two pilots were flying between 1,500 to 2,000 feet over the ground when authorities said 25-year-old Adam Flocchini pointed a green laser directly into one of the pilot’s eyes.



The pilot told Minneapolis Police the light made him dizzy and temporarily blinded him.



"The pilot just veered away to get out of the light, circled, put on the spot light into the area he believed the individual had been coming from," said State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson.



The helicopter made an unscheduled landing in a Minneapolis lumberyard. Officers arrested Flocchini at nearby Prospect Foundry. The company declined to comment.



CHOPPER 5 pilot Ken Melchior explained that a green laser is worse than a red laser, in fact, 50 to 100 times worse.



"Years ago, I was flashed with a red laser," Melchoir said.



He said having a laser flashed into a pilot’s eyes could cause disorientation, temporary blindness, permanent eye injury, or even a crash.



"Results can be deadly. Someone may think it's a joke, but it's no joke to the pilot in the cockpit," Melchoir said.



Interfering with an aircraft is a felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a quarter of a million dollar fine.



This is the second time in 12 months a State Patrol helicopter has been targeted with a laser.



Flocchini is in custody at the Hennepin County Jail.

 

[Murudai]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

I love it how they're always caught Just a shame these fools don't read the news, otherwise they'd realize that you can't get away with it.

If you get hit by a laser strong enough to be annoying, it's fairly easy to follow the beam back to the culprit

 

[wesdaman14]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

Which type laser would be hard to trace back,other than ir and a red laser ?

 

[sk8er4514]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

anything that you aim at a helicopter is a horrible idea, they are so mobile that they can just turn around and find you. a plane couldn't do this.. this is why you see stories of people shining lasers at helicopters always getting caught.

 

[wesdaman14]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

Well they always have reports of it being "Green laser beam" High power !!
if they consider <5mW High power then thats messed up.

 

[Spyderz20x6]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

Well they always have reports of it being "Green laser beam" High power !!
if they consider <5mW High power then thats messed up.

They should all be treated as a weapon. If it's high enough to blind you, then it is high power.

 

[wesdaman14]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

but they created 5mw green to be "Safe" thats why eBay can only sell the 5mw and be legal. so if its legal,then it should be safe. i mean i know theres a blink response,but how fast is it,and to what level laser are we talking about ?

 

[Ace82]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

I love it how they're always caught Just a shame these fools don't read the news, otherwise they'd realize that you can't get away with it.

If you get hit by a laser strong enough to be annoying, it's fairly easy to follow the beam back to the culprit

I'm sure you know by now that the media is a main tool of control right? That's why you never read/see/hear about people who don't get caught (or very rarly) although it happens just as much, if not more then those who are caught. They just don't want you to know about them, and remain in fear, which drives us in our everyday life. "sheep".

[quote author=Wesdaman14 link=1217341219/0#4 date=1217342777]Well they always have reports of it being "Green laser beam" High power !!
if they consider <5mW High power then thats messed up.

They should all be treated as a weapon. If it's high enough to blind you, then it is high power.[/quote]


This dispute has been brought up so many times here, it's amazing. They should NOT be treated as weapons because that would put the crack down hard on all of us respectable hobbyists who don't use them in malicious manners. And there are significant differences then a weapon designed for killing, destruction, or demobilization then a laser pointer designed to make a beam of light. But, the line is gray based on the intent of coarse, because a laser could theoretically cause murders (not as a gun's site of coarse), destruction, and great distractions by chance, but even with actual intent for such a goal would be very unpromising. You could try to take a helicopter out of the sky with a laser and WILL end up in jail with no harm done except to yourself. You could try to take a helicopter out of the sky with a heat-seeking rocket and have more chances of accomplishing your goal without even getting caught.

 

[Spyderz20x6]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

[quote author=Wesdaman14 link=1217341219/0#4 date=1217342777]Well they always have reports of it being "Green laser beam" High power !!
if they consider <5mW High power then thats messed up.

They should all be treated as a weapon. If it's high enough to blind you, then it is high power.[/quote]


This dispute has been brought up so many times here, it's amazing.  They should NOT be treated as weapons because that would put the crack down hard on all of us respectable hobbyists who don't use them in malicious manners.  And there are significant differences then a weapon designed for killing, destruction, or demobilization then a laser pointer designed to make a beam of light. But, the line is gray based on the intent of coarse, because a laser could theoretically cause murders (not as a gun's site of coarse), destruction, and great distractions by chance, but even with actual intent for such a goal would be very unpromising.  You could try to take a helicopter out of the sky with a laser and WILL end up in jail with no harm done except to yourself.  You could try to take a helicopter out of the sky with a heat-seeking rocket and have more chances of accomplishing your goal without even getting caught.  
[/quote]
Well, they should be treated like dangerous tools...

For example, you could use a knife to cut bread, or you can use it to kill someone.
You can use a laser to have fun, or you can use it to endanger peoples eyes...

 

[wesdaman14]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

Yes,but it wont Annihilate You will it, it will just make you blind. at least you still have your life. so its not a weapon.

 

[rog8811]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

it will just make you blind.......... at least you still have your life.

Is that a non-sequitur or an oxymoron........ :-/

 

[rangedunits]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

Everything's get illegal when you don't use your common sense.  If you runs into people with you car  that's illegal ... But a car ain't illegal. Same thing apply to lasers. The more theses things happens the worse it will be for us. The incidents that happened in the Australia resulted to a new law enforcements about lasers, of course we have nothing to do with these things but its just some idiots making things more restrictive.

 

[wesdaman14]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

its a oxymoron.

 

[Ace82]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

For example, you could use a knife to cut bread, or you can use it to kill someone.
You can use a laser to have fun, or you can use it to endanger peoples eyes...

Lets say then your goal wasn't necessarily to kill someone, so murder weapon is out of the question. I suppose a loud car stereo could be considered a weapon too if you went bumping it with intent to deafen someone. So let's say you wish to use the laser as a weapon solely to blind someone. I bet it would still be easier to use a bread knife and stab out their eyes, then to hold their eye lids open while a high powered laser burned their retina.

To get technical about it, we can bring in the physics of it. A weapon uses mass. Is light mass? Depends on your perception, yes and no are correct answers. A laser can be used as a weapon, but with the technology currently available, an extremely weak one, especially in comparison to the technology involved in actual weaponry.

They say my rc helicopter "is not a toy" because it could cause serious harm to someone. But it is used for fun mainly, as a hobby.
They say lasers are not a toy because it could cause serious harm to someone.
I suppose most of us operate deadly weapons every day, but we don't intend to harm anyone with them; cars, kitchen knifes, pens, pencils, lasers etc.

Until the day where an aircraft crashes whether or not injuries occur, laser pointers should NOT be considered weapons.

 

[laserguys]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

I think it's the Moron thing ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[Ace82]

Re: yet another idiot in our back yard with a lase

How does this appeal: your now arrested and faced with a min. of 4 years in state prison with $100,000 bail and $5,000 fine with clean record because cop wanted to harass you walking down the street with a dx 30 "concealed deadly weapon" in your pocket although you haven't even used it that day. Does that seem justified? I guess we're all going to have to get licenses and exterior holsters for our lasers next. ;D