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US: Laser on gun pointed at teens by off-duty trooper

Two New Jersey teenagers say that on July 26 2015, a man with a gun followed them, they saw a laser being pointed at them, and then the man opened fire. The man later turned out to be an off-duty state trooper using what the state attorney general’s office says was his personal handgun.

From NJ.com

US: Juvenile temporarily blinds officer, who remains out for evaluation

A police officer in Montville (NJ) was temporarily blinded by a green laser pointer wielded by a juvenile in a February 8 2012 incident. As of February 17, the officer remains off duty for evaluation. The juvenile was charged with aggravated assault and interfering with transportation.

Patrolman Jason Blustein was driving to investigate a burglar alarm when the beam went into his left eye and he “briefly lost vision.” Blustein continued to the alarm site where he found it was a false alarm. He then went to the home where the beam had been aimed from a second-floor window. He spoke with a woman who called her son downstairs. A laser pointer was confiscated and the boy was arrested. Police say “the juvenile was upset and said he didn’t mean it.”

From the Montville NJ Patch

US: Ocean City NJ residents report increasing laser harassment

Residents of Ocean City, New Jersey are reporting increasing laser pointer harassment of ordinary citizens. This is in addition to multiple reports of aircraft being lased from the resort town. Officials have asked local merchants to stop selling laser pointers though voluntary compliance has been spotty. This has brought renewed attention to a state Senate bill that would prohibit the sale of laser pointers above 1 milliwatt.

Ocean City Patch said a “quick survey ... found repeated recent uses of laser beams to bother drivers, pets and pedestrians”. Persons interviewed gave anecdotes such as a laser being aimed from outside into a woman’s kitchen window, and a group of 20-year-olds who were lasing passersby including a man and his dog.

Because of aviation and other incidents last year, both police and the local Boardwalk Merchants’ Association (BMA) had asked stores to stop selling pointers. Some complied, or only sold lower-power red and yellow lasers. But since a few stores continued selling laser pointers, the competitive pressure caused others to resume sales. Ironically, one of the stores to resume sales was managed by the brother of the BMA’s president. The store listed the top selling items as being green laser pointers selling for $25 and $35. The manager said “he plans to continue selling them as long as they are legal to sell.”

To fix this, last November Ocean City’s state senator Jeff Van Drew introduced New Jersey Senate bill 2430, banning laser pointers above 1 milliwatt. This is five times less than the U.S. federal limit of 5 milliwatts as set by the Food and Drug Administration. S2430 is currently pending in the state Senate Commerce Committee.

From the Ocean City Patch.

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