Use and misuse of lasers at protests

Laser pointers, and more powerful handheld lasers, have been used at protests as early as 2008. In the past few years usage has escalated dramatically, with lasers at protests in Chile, Hong Kong and the United States making worldwide news.

Uses include intentionally interfering with law enforcement officers and cameras, and to visually draw attention in a manner similar to waving signs and banners.

Usage to interfere has resulted in numerous claims of eye injury to law enforcement officers. Many of these claims appear to reference flashblindness/afterimage type temporary effects. There have been a few claims of officers with serious and/or permanent eye injury but these have not been substantiated.

To counter the eye injury potential, and the vision-blocking effects, police can use protective visor strips or eyewear. This has been shown to reduce the use of lasers against officers.

Restrictions or a ban on laser pointer possession or use by the general public probably will not help, at least in the near term. For example, restrictions in Australia and New Zealand intended to bring down the rate of aiming lasers at aircraft did not work; the rates in both countries actually went up for years after the bans.

With respect to all types of eye injuries at protests, there have been hundreds of cases where protesters had serious eye injuries and blindings due to law enforcement use of rubber bullets and lead pellets -- far outstripping the few claimed cases of serious eye injuries to officers caused by lasers.