Laser use conviction

A teenager who pointed a laser at a police car has been convicted of assault and will have his laser destroyed. Ethan Freeman, 18, pointed a high-powered green laser beam at a police car as it turned into Waipukurau’s Russell St on the night of May 1 last year. The beam momentarily blinded the officer at the wheel. Freeman appeared in Napier District Court yesterday and pleaded guilty. Judge Geoff Rea sentenced Freeman to 80 hours of community work and granted a police application to destroy the laser.