They used to be for business meetings and presentations…

They used to be for business meetings and presentations. Then they became a new irritating fad. Now, they have become a dangerous toy in the hands of irresponsible teens and kids. What am I talking about? Lasers.

The little penlight laser. The laser that projects a red laser beam up to 2500 feet. They used to only be used for business meetings or presentations as a pointer. Then kids started taking them to movie theaters, concerts, malls, etc. causing an irritating nuisance of red dots everywhere. But now, this “new fad” is going too far. It is injuring innocent people, causing vehicle accidents, and putting police officers in a situation of possibly having to use deadly force. And lasers are becoming increasingly responsible for people’s deaths.

A $2.99 “toy” you buy for your child, can cause you emotional and monetary suffering later.

Parents are buying Laser pointers for their kids, not realizing the dangers that lasers pose. And lasers are being used by irresponsible adults as well who are just “trying to have fun”, but they are actually putting innocent people in danger. Lasers have been blamed for eye damage, vehicle wrecks, aviation near-mishaps, and police shootings.

First off, the lasers can cause eye damage. Prolonged exposure can cause permanent eye damage. Even momentary exposure can cause the eye to react to the light, blurring vision or causing temporary blinding, with the eye needing several minutes or hours to recover. This can be hazardous to someone driving a car, or worse, an airplane. There are recent reports of people at airports trying to shine lasers into the cockpit of airplanes on approach to runways. Would you want to be on a jetliner attempting to land and have the pilots vision suddenly disrupted or blinded? This can have disastrous results.

People are pointing lasers at drivers. First, the possibility of blinding a driver is the biggest safety issue. People are blinded or confused by the light and are getting into wrecks. Secondly, since lasers are common aiming devices on firearms, people think that a gun is being pointed at them. I don’t know about you, but if I thought a gun was being pointed at me, I would duck. Most people do, and that is causing wrecks.

Now the worst case scenario for us! Police officers respond to a call in a neighborhood. As they walk towards a house, they see a red dot trained on the chest of one of the officers. They see a red laser beam coming from around the back of the house, but they can not see anything but the laser due to darkness. In a cop’s mind, he doesn’t know if it’s someone pointing a gun with laser sights at them, or is it an 11-year old kid playing with a new pen laser toy that mommy bought him?

I don’t think any cop wants to be put in this position. If it is a real gun with laser sights, the cop is shot and killed for hesitating. If the cop shoots first to defend themselves and it ends up being an 11-year old kid playing with a pointer, he or she has to live with the fact that they killed a child.

Most cops couldn’t go on with a career after that. There is enough stress in a cop’s job having to make split second decisions without the added stress of killing or injuring a child accidentally. But cops are being put in this position everyday across the country.

I was on a call a few months back when I saw a laser’s red dot on my cover officer’s chest. I yelled for him to duck and our guns came out. This is probably natural instinct for most cops. We never knew where the laser came from, but it sure got our adrenaline going. If we had saw the laser beam coming from a window or doorway, it would have put us into a position of possibly having to use deadly force.

Years ago, before lasers were “toys”, most cops probably would have just shot at the location where the laser was coming from, and they would have been justified doing it. Then, it was highly probable that a laser on a cop’s chest was a gun. But now, the cop has to second guess himself and wonder if it’s a kid with a toy. And that’s going to get cops killed. Lasers are down to $2.99 at toy stores and are selling out at record paces.

States have laws restricting laser use, and since this new trend is causing deaths and injury, I foresee stricter laws regarding laser use or possession.
There was a case prosecuted in my county a few months back regarding a man who shined a laser pen at a helicopter that was circling overhead. Turned out to be a police helicopter and the laser disrupted the pilot’s vision temporarily. Police cars were quickly dispatched to the house where the light source was coming from, and a man was arrested on FELONY charges, in front of his family!

What the man thought was just a little fun, seeing how far the laser could go, landed him in jail on felony charges. Along with the embarrassment of being arrested in front of his family, neighbors, the newspaper coverage, etc. But what if the laser blinded the pilot? What if the pilot lost control of the helicopter and crashed in this residential neighborhood? That little bit of “harmless fun” would have landed the man in prison for the rest of his life.

Like my brother Jim always says, “Every Action has a Reaction”. Pointing a laser at someone is an action that will ALWAYS cause a reaction. Hopefully that reaction will not be a deadly one.

Parents…
If you have thought about buying a laser pen as a toy for your child, DON’T!
If your child already has a laser light, take it away. Sooner or later, it will be used for the wrong purpose and it will injure them or someone else. Don’t put a cop in a position of deadly force as they walk up your driveway for an accidental 911 call, only to have your child point a laser at them for fun.

There are safer toys you can buy for your child. Lasers are already banned at most schools, some concerts, theaters, and most states ban the pointing of lasers at aircraft and vehicles. What was once a novelty has now become a serious safety issue. Please use common sense, it could save a life.

Mark Lambert
Netcops PSI