Man Fined $100,000 for Laser Strike on Washington State Ferry

1998

Coast Guard Issues $100,000 Civil Penalty For WSF Laser Strike

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Laser crimes are on the rise.  Many such incidents are making news and trending.  Like the present one in which the U.S Coast Guard, Seattle, has levied a fine of $100,000 on a man who pointed a high-powered blue laser at a Washington State Ferry last year.  Mark Raden of Freeland, Washington, pointed the laser from the deck of another ship, the Kitsap, which was passing by the Tokitae.

The civil penalty was issued as the Coast Guard investigators found him to have shot a high-powered blue laser at the ferry Tokitae while it was on a run from Mukilteo to Clinton, in October.

According to the statements issued at the time by Washington State Ferry Officials, the incident resulted in eye injuries to the ferry master and first mate of the Tokitae, the chief mate’s vision still hadn’t recovered fully a week after the laser strike.

Raden is accused of “violating a safety and security zone” as well as interference with the safe operation of the Tokitae.  The fine will be reviewed and finalized by a hearing officer in Arlington, Virginia.

Joe Raymond, captain of the Port, Sector Puget Sound said that he encouraged individuals to dial 911 if they witnessed attacks on commercial vessels and Coast Guard small boats and aircrafts.  He also emphatically stated that firing at large vessels was extremely dangerous as it directly interfered with the Coast Guard’s ability to conduct search and rescue operations.

The October incident was the first laser strike to affect a Washington State Ferry.  News reports said the suspect was caught because a deckhand on the Kitsap saw two men using the laser and identified them to the Washington State Patrol after the ferry docked.

Raden is not a first time offender as he had been accused of shining a laser into a police officer’s eyes in last July.  He has however pleaded not guilty to the ferry charge in April, but will have to face trial in June.

Raden was released without bail on the condition that he not possess any lasers.  However in recent years laser strikes against aircrafts are on the rise.  In many cases it has led to criminal prosecutions and prison sentences.

It is worth a thought as to why this tendency is on the rise and how to strike a balance between technology and sanity.  Is it the importance that the news mongers ascribe to it that is attracting the people to it or is the liberal attitude to technology that we have adopted to be blamed.

Reference: Ars Technica, USCG News