My question involves a speeding ticket from the State of: California
I have a very technical question regarding training and use of LIDAR near airports. I'll spare the details and simply say the citation was for 77 in 65 on a section of US 101 that passes within one mile of a commercial airport. The officer made several mistakes in filling out the citation, which may imply sufficient fatigue that other errors were made in the measurement process, but I'm not willing to rest my defense on that.
The LIDAR device in question is a Laser Technology 20-20 TRU-SPEED (http://www.lasertech.com/TruSpeed-Specifications.aspx), which according to its datasheet uses a 90 microwatt, 905nm pulsed LASER. We've all seen the problems of kids using LASER pointers to distract pilots or even drivers from an overpass. There are laws against such, and specific protocols for operating LASER equipment in the vicinity of an airport. The FAA FAQ on LASER (http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/...e_rules/laser/) includes an Outdoor LASER Operations advisory that is applicable to surveyors, body shops using frame alignment equipment, and a host of other businesses that use LASER equipment in the vicinity of an airport. On page 17 of the Appendix is a very specific diagram showing the maximum allowable power (50 nanowatts) and specific ranges from the runways over which this limitation applies.
Now the Question: Do law enforcement agencies have some carte blanche to operate LIDAR inside this range? Whom should I contact? And before suggesting the CHP, I'll make it known that they've been very uncooperative in providing discovery information thus far. I had to serve the local DA, and all I got back were copies of the flip side of the citation, the calibration log (which didn't match the serial number on the front of the citation), the device certification, and the officer's LIDAR training certificate. I was hoping to also get the video log and the officers small arms qualification scores to show ability to hit a target at 500+ feet. I note that neither the datasheet nor operator's manual mention FAA certification or operating in the vicinity of an airport, so I believe this restriction applies. Thoughts, comments, and insights please.

