Not content to use chemicals and batons to inflict pain. A "security professional" has developed a rifle mounted laser that is designed to incapacitate through blindness. This is being tested in Britain. Since there seems to be a shift in this country regarding what is violence, linking arms is now considered violent. We can expect protesters to now be visually impaired.
On the plus side blindness is one of the disabilities that Social Security will automatically grant benefits for. So no 8-10 year wait for protesters permanently damaged by this device.
The laser, resembling a rifle and known as an SMU 100, can dazzle and incapacitate targets up to 500m away with a wall of light up to three metres squared. It costs £25,000 and has an infrared scope to spot looters in poor visibility.
Looking at the intense beam causes a short-lived effect similar to staring at the sun, forcing the target to turn away.
My favorite response from Twitter:
Hookup some dubstep to an LRAD & point this thing at a mirrorball & you got yourself a helluva dance party
H/T to anyname for more info:
"In the past, the problem with lasers of this type has been that they often permanently blind human targets," says Tobias Feakin, an expert at Bradford University's Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project in the UK.
But he says newer systems may avoid this problem by using less powerful laser beams. "This new wave of low-intensity laser weapons do not have a permanently damaging effect, apparently," he told New Scientist.
Several laboratories across the world are working on such weapons. But even low power laser systems can cause eye damage if they are used at close quarters or for extended periods.
The PHASR may attempt to address safety concerns by automatically sensing its distance from a target. The limited information released by the DoD includes mention of an "eye-safe range finder", which may mean the laser's power is adjusted depending on the distance to the target. The system is also said to incorporate a "two wavelength laser system", which may be designed to counter goggles that can filter out certain wavelengths of laser light.
What a sick, sick world we live in. We can't solve world hunger but we can waste money on blinding protesters.