A 49-year-old Dubbo woman has been found guilty of impersonating police and using a laser pointer in a public place.
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Danielle Therese Emery, of Brooks Avenue, was caught using the pointer at about 2am on January 14.
According to police fact documents presented in Dubbo Local Court, a member of the public recorded Emery using the laser pointer at a Jannali Road lookout.
"[Emery] flailed the intense blue beam about, still skywards, to establish if unknown parties could see the laser beam," police said.
When Emery was approached about the incident, police said they saw a vehicle that had a black bar with 12 LED light bulbs fitted onto it.
"When switched on, it displayed red and blue warning lights," police said.
"The light bar, when activated, impersonates warning lights fitted to NSW police vehicles."
Emery told police she only used it on friends.
"I drove up behind them and turned it on, just having fun scaring them with police lights," she told police before she was charged with using a laser pointer in a public place and impersonating a police officer.
In court, Emery's legal representative said her client "almost no criminal record" when pleading for a lenient sentence.
Magistrate Theresa Hamilton noted a heartfelt letter of admission and regret Emery had sent the court.
"I do accept you were probably not aware of the seriousness of the conduct in question," she said before issuing Emery with a community corrections order for 12 months.
