A comprehensive resource for safe and responsible laser use

UK: Six month sentence suspended for Cheshire man

27-year-old Joseph Standish pleaded guilty on January 28 2011 to aiming a green laser at a Cheshire Police helicopter. A police observer on board was disoriented for a few seconds during the August 2010 incident. He was able to use thermal imaging equipment and a low-light lens to track the laser to Standish’s address in Winsford.

Before officers arrived, Standish dropped the laser into a drain. He denied the incident, but went to the Winsford Police Station the next day where he admitted aiming at the helicopter.

Standish was convicted of acting recklessly or negligently in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft. He was sentenced to six months in prison which was suspended for two years, and was ordered to do 150 hours of community service. The laser pen was confiscated.

From the Police Oracle