It freaked me out,I was slowing to a brisk
walk to catch my breath and all the sudden
I see a red dot on my chest dead center.I
saw it out of the "corner" of my eye and when
I stopped to look at it{stupid to stop,sorry
armchair rangers [:D]} whoever aimed it statrted
"bouncing" the dot around on my chest,I started
to run{towards the dot,it came from somwhere
across the intersection 30-45 yds away}As I
raised my hand to run through my hair or
something the like,I saw the dot move by/on my
hand,I assume it was on my head too.

When I got home I called the cops and just said
that someone had a laser pointer and nearly hit
me in the eye.

Did I do the right thing by calling them?
If it hit my eye I would be blind by now,
correct?

... It  doesn't make it right but those pen lasers can go for as little as $9.99 at Radio Shack.

Seems every kid on the block has one here.

Now if I heard a charging handle schwing too I duck

Winston I know.I was'nt the fact some accidentaly
hit me,I could understand that,but they knew
what the were doing.Makes me mad to think that
my life plans and goals would be changed if
I was blinded by some stupid teens or 20 year
olds screwing with joggers.

If the laser hit a eye, you would go blind
or have pain immediatly,right?

EDITED: Cause thar ain't bes no "T" in go [:D]

2ND EDIT: Cause I am typing like a 4yo chimp
stoned on tang tonight

Negative sigman.  a few years ago, one of our surveillance aircraft shadowing a Russian vessel got illuminated by what is believed to be a non-visible wavelength laser.  Physical effects on the aircraft crewmembers did not manifest for several days although some crewmembers felt an optical sensation at the time.

... again, it ain't right, I agree. However, a 650 nm wavelength laser would have to be focused right straight into your cornea for 30 seconds to begin to do damage.

SOMETHING WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, IF ON DUTY AND THAT HAPPENS, WHAT WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE?  OVERWHEMINLY, IT WAS STATED, IF THE ORIGIN COULD BE SEEN, THEN THE USER WOULD BE SHOT.
YOU NEVER KNOW IF IT'S A KID WITH A TOY OR SOMEONE WITH A WEAPON MOUNTED LASER.

Cruiser was dispatched.No word back,they said
they would call.So what is the maximum amount
of time effects would show?

I woul'nt press charges unless permanent eye
damage is done,the I might sue.

A accident is one thing,but this was not
a accident.

... Wow, that sounds like a recipe for disaster.
After of which you might find out it's your sisters kid.

Roger.No probable damage.Then I am cool.
If the police find the people the can lecture
them but I am not out for blood if no real
harm was done.All in all it gave me a good
cardio workout running around the corner.[:D]

Looking into a laser is something that should never be done and could damage the eye. Having said that, lasers are generally divided into 3 classes.  Class III lasers are 5 milliwatts or less and are the consumer lasers that are generally considered eyesafe, such as pointers and gunsights. Something to remember is that when you look at a laser through optical magnification, you increase the effective ability of the laser to damage your eye by the power of the optics. A laser rangefinder that is considered eye dangerous to 100 yards has to be considered dangerous to 1000 yard if viewed through a 10X riflescope for example.
The closer the laser and the longer you view it are both risk factors. In other words, don't take a pointer and look into it and turn it on.
Under those circumstances you described, there was realisticly no risk unless the laser was higher powered, something you don't want to take even a slim chance with. I have seen, for example, laser tubes removed from tank rangefinders and sold in electronics hobby shops. Or, if it was industrial surplus, etc.

Depending on local laws, this could be considered an assault and could be taken very seriously, the idea being you cannot know whether it is a weapon sight.

It  more or less made me mad thats all.
My first 2 thoughts were:
1]dude is trying to blind me.
2]some paranoid loser is holed up, and I,in my
t-shirt,jeans and Nikes,look like a terrorist
that has his house as the next target.This
guy is zapping the range or aiming and
I am going to take a .308 through the chest.

Maybe not in that order though.
Luckily it was me and not a cop.
This towns' cops might{would} of shot back.

So unless this was a soviet infared laser
or tank or equivalent laser I am OK?

it takes prolonged exposure from a laser pointer to do any damage. I was hit a few times in the eyes in highschool (bastards). It's like looking at the sun, not fun, but not immediately dangerous

About 9 months ago while we were wating for a table at my Mom's favoriter Mexican food place a kid no more than 6 years old pointed one of those things at my 2 year old daughter and was heading up her torso to her face when I noticed, jumped up, and started yelling at him and his parents.  He jumped up and ran behind them and I told them that it was completely reckless to give a kid a laser pointer like that and if he pointed it my kid again I'd press assault charges on them and seriously think about whipping all of them.  They immediately confiscated juniors new toy as I resisted the urge to throttle them all.  They didn't like me, but they would have liked me less if their kid had gotten that thing to my daughter's eyes.

There's a reason those things have warnings on them.

God Bless Texas

It is a misdemeanor in some states to go around flashing people with laser pointers.

I knew a guy who got zapped when he forgot to put his eye protection on while working in a laser lab. He described the effect as like looking at a camera flash where a green or white blob is stuck in your vision for a couple days. Then it starts to fade and is replaced with a blind spot.

Similar thing happened to me at a restaurant.  Some punk teenagers put a laser on my chest and on the waitress, too.  I got up, and told them nicely to stop playing around or someone could get hurt with that thing.

They copped and attitude and said something like "calm down dude, it's just a pen laser.  Mind your business."  So I said "the only lasers I know about are mounted on my guns, so when I see a laser on my chest, I think about defending myself."

That shut them up...