Jerk Attacks Coast Guard Search & Rescue Crew With Laser
Someone out there is trying to blind Coast Guard rescue workers. Let’s help find him (or her).
Ronald Reagan once said “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” The exception to that rule is when those words are uttered from the deck of a Coast Guard boat. No matter how one feels about the state of law enforcement today, it’s hard to imagine that someone out there wants to stop Coast Guard search and rescue crews from saving people. But someone does, and the Coast Guard wants our help finding him.
This past Monday the 17th, someone pointed a blue laser light at a Station Seattle boatcrew conducting search and rescue operations Monday night near Point Wells. The laser strike reportedly came from the general vicinity of the Point Wells area. There’s every reason to believe that this was a deliberate attempt to blind that crew, because the perp (or perps) selected a blue laser. According to research, blue lasers are more dangerous than red and green ones because blue is more easily absorbed by pigments in the retina and thus more damaging to it.
At first, the crew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium didn’t think they had been hurt by the laser strike. However, several minutes later, multiple crew members reported experiencing pain and discomfort in their eyes as a result of the exposure. Laser pointers can cause danger to Coast Guard air and boatcrews due to glare, afterimage, flash blindness or temporary loss of night vision. If a laser is shined in the eyes of an aircrew member, Coast Guard flight rules dictate that the aircraft must abort its mission.
“Laser incidents are incredibly dangerous, put the safety of our boatcrews in jeopardy and degrade our ability to navigate and respond to search and rescue,” said Lt. Alex Cropley, commanding officer of Station Seattle. “We ask the public to understand the dangers associated with playing with lasers and how they disrupt search and rescue assets from responding to mariners in distress.”
Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft or vessel is a felony crime under 18 U.S. Code Section 111, which states whoever forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person – a U.S. government officer – (in this case, a Coast Guard member) engaged in performance of his/her official duties, is in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 111.
Coast Guard Investigative Service agents are working with local law enforcement to investigate the incident. Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact investigators at 206-220-7170 and visit: https://www.uscg.mil/Units/Coast-Guard-Investigative-Service/.
For more information about laser safety and the affects of a laser incident, visit the Federal Aviation Administration’s Laser Safety Imitative webpage at: http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers/
Watched the Coasties provide rescue to a merchant seaman off Ketchikan. Very impressive and professional. Thanks, Paul Rockhold
Pa John,
You make a valid point about defending oneself and one’s crew against potentially deadly or greivously harmful attacks with LASER’s. The problem, simply put, is that many, if not most, people simply do not comprehend the harmful and disruptive effects that these devices can have.
Everyone knows that you can’t point a gun at someone and say “it was just a joke”, but that’s exactly what people do with these LASER devices. The public needs to be made aware of the disruptive and harmful nature of LASER pointers and the effects that they can have on pilots, boat & air crews, and LEO’s. What we need first is a massive public education campaign, coupled with aggressive law enforcement.
Without educating the public of the dangers posed by these devices, employing deadly force against users of LASER pointers will simply unleash massive protests whenever some kid or drunken frat brother gets killed by LEO’s as a result. Do we really need any more of that now?
Means exist to detect laser fire a d military laser designator can be slaves to the detector. Military laser designator are not in general she safe.
Absent something like dust or rain, the laser can only be seen from the front. Who wants to aim through a magnifying scope at a person with a laser? In boot camp they told us, “Never volunteer for nothin’ no how.”
They should have a sniper on board just for that reason!
When caught use the laser on them see how they like it.
In situations like this the lasers should be considered deadly weapons and as such deadly force should be used for their safety.
Sadly these idiots rarely get caught unless they’re dumb enough to light up a law-enforcement helicopter who can then pinpoint them for officers on the ground. I’m a flight instructor and a student and I got targeted last year during a night training flight, we were one of over 6,000 reported strikes on aircraft. I’d be all for sending a couple of kilowatts of laser light right back at them – maybe it wouldn’t be so funny after that.
For citizens, law enforcement officers, and all members of all branches of the military whether on-duty or off, legitimate lawful and moral self-defense utilizing potentially deadly force starts with reasonable FEAR OF DEATH OR GREAT BODILY HARM. When that line is crossed you have every right to do whatever you have to do to end the threat.
Someone trying to PER21MANENTLY BLIND you and/or others with a powerful laser is in fact trying to cause horribly crippling permanent great bodily harm, so this not only justifies but necessitates using every means available to immediately STOP THE THREAT. Since these vicious laser pointer attacks are generally carried out at some distance from the victim(s), the most likely effective deterrent will probably be a firearm. Any and all cases where a perpetrator(s) is shot while purposely trying to blind others should be considered a lawful justified homicide or justified self-defense shooting. Make sure all your elected local, state, and federal congress critters know your opinion on this and always vote accordingly.
Finally, to combat anti-gun domestic enemies of the U.S. Constitution in positions of authority, do a search and read up on the term “jury nullification”, so you are fully prepared should you ever receive a “Notification of Jury Service”, and thus find yourself sitting on a jury in some case where you believe the government, prosecutor, and/or the law itself is in the wrong. This is a powerful weapon in defense of liberty – such as against your typical George Soros bought and paid for D.A. trying to railroad anybody who has to defend themselves with a firearm.
From Wikipedia: Jury Nullification (US), jury equity (UK), or a perverse verdict (UK) generally occurs when members of a criminal trial jury believe that a defendant is guilty, but choose to acquit the defendant anyway because the jurors consider that the law itself is unjust, that the prosecutor has misapplied the law in the defendant’s case, or that the potential punishment for breaking the law is too harsh.
The more you know… 🙂
To fully understand and to learn how or when to use Jury Nullification go to http://www.fija.org.
Excellent post and right to the point. John Jay, 1st United States Chief Justice said, “You may not only consider the facts but the law itself.”
Deadly force should be authorized in these cases as permanent blindness can result from these lasers. It’s disgusting that people are resorting to using such damaging weapons. 20 years minimum jail term for using a laser on law enforcement or military would be just. Using firearms to stop these attacks should also be considered justified. That alone may stem some of these attacks.
That would be if the perp survived the .50 cal. bullets returning to his hiding place.
Throw the book at they guy. Had you crashed it would be first degree murder.
Yup. Like tracers, lasers work both ways. When the lasers are seen, someone should be shooting at the point of origin.
I like your thought process.
Yes… what he said! It would be self defense.
Take out the laser pointers. Shoot ’em!
A burst from that 50 cal deck gun should do the trick.
A 50 cal deck gun might be a bit much, also not accurate enough. I would go with a dedicated simper and a very good rifle. A 308 cal rifle would have the range and lots less collateral damage. We don’t want little “Timmy” in bed next door getting hit if it can be avoided.