UK man jailed for lasing police helicopter

[TONY M]

I think we should keep stupid people from breeding.

Pure genius!

I don't know how exactly to prevent the problem of high powered lasers falling into the hands of careless children or careless adults. A (semi-flashaholic) friend of mine had a laser pointed at him when he was riding his motorcycle which is obviously the height of stupidity.

It is a shame that many that have these lasers just don't know how to use them safely.

I guess that more than a couple of percent of owners are careless in one way or another, and I don't mean delibrately threatening just careless, ie shining light indoors without the knowledge that a reflected beam may be harmful to the eyes or pointing them along the street, across town, even letting their pets chase a laser FAR too powerful for them.

Its just a fact of life that many people do NOT know how to be responsible and safe with these things - unlike us on this forum.

 

[monkeyboy]

I do say the same thing about guns Banning things only prevent law abiding folks from possessing them, the bad guys don't care if it's legal to own them or not.

In countries like the US, the vast majority of shootings are not related to the criminal underworld but carried out by "ordinary" people for example in domestic disputes where the shooting occurs in the heat of the moment just because there happens to be a gun lying around.

In the UK, sales are restricted to laser pointers under <2mW but clearly this doesn't work since people can easily obtain 50mW+ lasers over the internet from other countries at minimal expense. I've seen these stupid kids in the UK on a few occasions shining high powered green laser pointers at moving cars. A world wide ban on manufacturing is a possible solution but would be very difficult to implement.

My suggestion is that the battery powered lasers are restricted (as I said in my previous post) but perhaps mains operated lasers over a certain size should be a allowed for people interested in experimental use such as laser holography. This would satisfy us CPFers and prevent people from carrying them around in their pocket. It would also prevent kids from wanting to own one. IMO, a 200mW laser the size of a pen is just plain dangerous no matter how responsible a person you are. The only reason for having one is to show off to your friends and to say "look how cool this is". Weighted against the safety concerns, this just doesn't cut it.

 

[TITAN1833]

monkeyboy,I don't class school shootings in the US as domestic,surley most shootings are caused by,the sick or criminal minded.

back OT don't ban lasers for all,there just needs to be more education about them and their uses.

IIRC,did we not have something simlar with red laser pointers,being used at horse racing events..I think that stopped when the authorities started jailing a few...the idiots soon get the message.
( point safley,or end up safley behind bars)

 

[Isak Hawk]

In countries like the US, the vast majority of shootings are not related to the criminal underworld but carried out by "ordinary" people for example in domestic disputes where the shooting occurs in the heat of the moment just because there happens to be a gun lying around.

Really? All the "neutral" statistics I have seen show the exact opposite. Most of the gun-related deaths in the US are suicides, and after that it's gang members or people with prior criminal records. I guess it depends on which statistics you read. Both the pro and anti gun people will try to spin statistics to suit their views.

Back on topic, I think some form or regulation is a good idea. The actual regulation would have to be done by the people selling them to work though. That means getting DX, Kaidomain and the others to agree to do this. It would probably be quite hard, as it would cut down on their profits in a big way. A law without cooperation from the sellers would only be symbolic at best, as things bought online are rarely inspected properly.

 

[monkeyboy]

monkeyboy,I don't class school shootings in the US as domestic,surley most shootings are caused by,the sick or criminal minded.

School yard shootings are still a relatively rare occurrence, it's just that every time it happens it appears on the news for several days at a time all round the world. A shooting caused by a domestic dispute is unlikely to cause such a big stir.

Isak Hawk, that was a statistic I saw on one of these TV programs; I can't remember which one but probably "FBI files". Perhaps suicides are counted as domestic shootings.

I guess my gun analogy was a little OT but my point is that if something that dangerous is too easily available, it's just asking for trouble. And as Paulr pointed out, people just aren't aware of the dangers of high powered lasers.

 

[Lightraven]

According to an internal report, one of our guys got lased with a blue laser. The juvenile who lased him was arrested and a toy gun with a laser seized.

It sounds very odd to me--a toy gun with a blue laser? I don't know who got lased and our agency didn't make the arrest, so I can't ask anybody about it.

Maybe it was merely a pointer and got reported as a toy gun?

 

[monkeyboy]

According to an internal report, one of our guys got lased with a blue laser. The juvenile who lased him was arrested and a toy gun with a laser seized.

It sounds very odd to me--a toy gun with a blue laser? I don't know who got lased and our agency didn't make the arrest, so I can't ask anybody about it.

Maybe it was merely a pointer and got reported as a toy gun?

I'm sure that blue laser pointers are still quite rare and expensive.

 

[TITAN1833]

I'm sure that blue laser pointers are still quite rare and expensive.

No! they are not rare,but because they are newish.they are expensive you have to shop around.:wave:

here one example :devil:

EDITED: I must say,the description for blue laser pointers is thus: blue violet?.

 

[SunInThyHands532]

wow I haven't heard about this in a long time.

Oh well sucks for him that's why you don't do it in plain sight what an iDiot lol

 

[Kiessling]

wow I haven't heard about this in a long time.

Oh well sucks for him that's why you don't do it in plain sight what an iDiot lol

You shouldn't do it at all. Please don't call others idiots while basically suggesting a similar behaviour in a more cunning way.
bernhard

 

[TITAN1833]

You shouldn't do it at all. Please don't call others idiots while basically suggesting a similar behaviour in a more cunning way.
bernhard

In a nutshell BTW I am not inferring
SunInThyHands532 is anything but a gentleman :devil:

 

[Lightraven]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080719-1035-ca-helicopter-laser.html

California man pleads guilty to shining a green laser at a Sheriff's helicopter.

Note the charge is federal (and will be investigated by the FBI among others)--Title 49 U.S. Code Section 46504, Interference with flight crew members and attendants. My old law book says the interference must happen on board, but the law now omits that qualifier, allowing any person on the ground to be charged.

Maximum sentence is 20 years and $250,000 fine. Girlfriend faces same charges.

Man, if there is a crime for stupidity, this is it.

 

[Tubor]

Shinning a laser at any aircraft, let alone a hovering police helicopter is pretty dumb but 4 months seems a bit harsh for what was probably a prank. Would a trained pilot be bothered by a flash of light I wonder? 20 years, well that just , beat them till they bleed mentality. A community order, part time over the next year or two say, would have been much more appropriate and "served it's purpose" better.

 

[Evil Twin]

4 months seems a bit harsh for what was probably a prank. Would a trained pilot be bothered by a flash of light I wonder?

Whether this was supposed to be just a "prank" or not, when a laser is shined into a helicopter cockpit, the beam refracts and bounces off all the glass surrounding the cockpit. This is much more than just a simple "flash of light" as it turns into multiple laser beams shining into the pilots eyes all at once. This is not only possibly deadly for the pilot (and any passengers), but if the helicopter crashes into a house on the ground, then all the inhabitants could be killed as well.

Such negligence towards public safety should be dealt with harshly. :thumbsdow

 

[Lightraven]

Yeah, there's no way he or the chick gets 20 years and the $250K fine. The maximum penalty is obviously meant to convey the very serious consequences of an aircraft being messed with--the text of the crime is extremely vague. If a dangerous weapon is involved, the maximum penalty is life in prison. The guy is 28 years old, and obviously old enough to know better.

As far as the actual danger to the pilot, probably more than some claim, and less than others do. I'm a pilot but have no experience in this regard.

Here's an article by Doug Ritter of Equipped.org (who first alerted me to CPF and Rescue Laser Flares, which I have and use at my job) about his experience being voluntarily lased by the Laser Flares while flying and his opinion on the subject.

http://www.equipped.org/rescuelaser.htm

 

[Tubor]

I still think a community order would be more appropriate than jail (depending on "previous","good character",the facts of the case which haven't come to light in this news story,etc). I knew someone who had a community order and they did charity work for 2 years + (and carried on after the order was finished), it changed their life for the better and certainly taught them a lesson, as jail was the other option. Obviously it's a logical fact that some people wouldn't "benefit" from a community order. A serious issue certainly.

 

[Jaygnar]

If you do something stupid like that and you end up paying the price then you got what was coming to you. I'm not a fan of the idea that just because one person is irresponsible, nobody should be allowed to have access to high powered lasers. If you hold to that logic, then cars should be banned because of drunk drivers and knives to prevent stabbings and guns for shootings and all drugs should be administered in hospitals only to prevent overdoses. Then we have to get rid of all the baseball bats and other stuff that you could use for bludgeoning. And while we're at it lets go ahead and amputate the limbs of all babies at birth so that they don't punch or kick each other.
Or we just continue to follow our brains and hearts and do the best we can by punishing those people who choose to have no respect for the rights of others.
But thats just what I think and my opinion is subject to change without notice.