Virginia statute
Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.01 — Pointing laser at law-enforcement officer unlawful; penalty
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Article 4: Assaults and Bodily Woundings, Code of Virginia.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.01
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the text of the Code of Virginia from the official Virginia Law Portal API published by the Virginia General Assembly's Division of Legislative Automated Systems; it is not the official Code of Virginia.
If any person, knowing or having reason to know another person is a law-enforcement officer as defined in § 18.2-57 , a probation or parole officer appointed pursuant to § 53.1-143 , a correctional officer as defined in § 53.1-1 , or a person employed by the Department of Corrections directly involved in the care, treatment or supervision of inmates in the custody of the Department engaged in the performance of his public duties as such, intentionally projects at such other person a beam or a point of light from a laser, a laser gun sight, or any device that simulates a laser, shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
Is pointing laser at law-enforcement officer unlawful a felony or a misdemeanor in Virginia?
Pointing laser at law-enforcement officer unlawful is a class 2 misdemeanor in Virginia under Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.01.
Which Virginia statute covers pointing laser at law-enforcement officer unlawful?
Pointing laser at law-enforcement officer unlawful is governed by Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.01 (Pointing laser at law-enforcement officer unlawful; penalty).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.