With all the craziness going on in major cities encountering unrelenting riots and full-scale assault on the law enforcement profession, even maritime anti-coppers on a tiny motorboat were fishing for trouble. Three adult individuals found it in Florida waters, and the local police along with county sheriff’s deputies were waiting on the dock of the bay.
A Volusia County Sheriff’s Office aviation unit occupied by two law enforcement deputies were up patrolling when a green laser beam was trained on them. Although the incredible instrumentation aboard the police helicopter does not include laser-blocking apparatus, all the other cool stuff it is equipped with honed in on the trio, practically zoomed so close as to observe the printing on their boat’s little outboard motor (the size of a bag of ice). Pertinently, the chopper’s surveillance capacity also clearly captured the boat’s hull number (registration).
Among varied other law enforcement aviation conventions, air units engage in communications with ground units, conveying observations from above, resulting in real-time synchronicity to get the job done safely and with the efficacy of a lab scientist on the threshold of discovery.
The police helicopter’s apparatus precisely recorded the maritime coordinates (additional details to bolster a criminal case) and similar data such as the suspect boat’s direction of travel. Relayed to boots on the ground, this scenario fortunately avoided disaster and culminated in a dock-and-lock epilogue.
One of the arresting officers on the dock noted how the weather at the time of the life-threatening laser-use stupidity was less than favorable. The policeman appropriately lectured the suspects, offering a quick crash course on how (among many other immediate responsibilities police pilots must maintain) weather conditions make flying even more nerve-wracking. A blinding laser in the eyes of a pilot trying to navigate strong winds and similar curveballs thrown by Mother Nature exacerbates aviation operations. Police pilots describe laser assaults as a temporary blinding, like a “camera flash” in the face, effectively subduing sight for a few minutes, potentially damaging the retinas. Can you imagine the white-knuckling on the chopper’s control stick during such an assault?
We have seen similar constructs at some of the riots in major cities. Morons on the ground pointing laser beams at police officers have reportedly damaged the vision of a handful of cops trying to quell the anarchy.
Playing devil’s advocate, imagine what a laser-pointing loser can cause by blinding a police helicopter pilot who loses control of his/her craft and plummets to the Earth…where innocents are having pizza or playing with a puppy or whatever. Although in this case, those things weren’t likely; police pilots are mindful of such possibilities and thus would seek to “put her down” in water (if possible). But it doesn’t alter the equation much for the pilot and co-pilot aboard the LE craft. And that helicopter was purchased by taxpayer dollars, so these laser-happy loons are encroaching toward putting citizens in the hole too.
Simpletons like these three are either low in brain cell capacity or pretending they are smart enough to escape apprehension. Or they just don not care either way. The operator of the small waterborne craft actually looked right up at the police pilot; they full-well knew what they were doing…and that it could have been catastrophic. Moreover, the word “SHERIFF” is bannered across both sides of the sheriff’s office choppers. Nevertheless, whether one can see the markings or not, there is zero justification for recklessly pointing a laser.
But I believe the brain-cell deficit is a winning theory. The boat’s hull number starting with an “FL” (Florida boater registration ID, like a car’s license plate) was in full view and transmitted to ground units waiting on the dock. Thus investigating/arresting officers were privy to boat ownership (if it were not owned by one of the trio) and if stolen (relatively common in Florida, given its mostly coastal surroundings and multitude of inland rivers, lakes, and tributaries). In this context, field units not only check the validity of the craft’s legality on the water but also the boat registrant(s) for any active warrants which could be served upon contact.
Once on the dock, the suspects’ body language and bogus commentary ensue. But the officers on dry land trust the testimonies of their colleagues in the helicopter—the “fellow officer rule” applies. At one point while two cops on the dock were detaining the three boaters, one officer receives transmissions from the aviator above, then swiftly spins and cuffs the female for her role in the almost disastrous ordeal. With the light show over, the lady with a laser (device found directly where she sat at the bow of the boat) didn’t have much to say.
One male suspect maintained meekness while the other (boat operator) irresponsibly asserted “How is it not illegal to sell ‘em [lasers] then?” Nice try, Popeye.
Per a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office post-arrest statement: “An Edgewater man who pointed a laser at the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Air One helicopter yesterday got a reminder that shining a laser pointer at a pilot in flight is a felony.
“Ryan Hutton, 29 (DOB 6/20/1991) was arrested without incident Tuesday morning in Edgewater after Air One led a deputy and police officer to his boat on the Intracoastal Waterway. A green laser pointer was recovered from the boat. Hutton said he pointed it at the helicopter thinking it was a drone.
“At the time of the incident shortly after 7 a.m., Air One was in flight on a burglary call when the laser beam hit the right side of the aircraft, illuminated the cockpit and hit the pilot in the right eye. It caused partial loss of vision for 3 to 5 minutes, which the pilot described as similar to having a flash bulb go off in front of his eye.
“Hutton was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he posted $5,000 bond.” A measly $5000. bond means the arrestee is sprung after posting $500 (10 percent of the total bond). Not much sting or hard lesson, considering the potentially tragic consequences of a boy with a toy placing cops’ lives in absolute danger.
To illustrate the words you just reviewed, you can view the sheriff’s office 2:10 minute video footage here.
Turns out that this laser incident involving Air One was followed by another a few days later. VCSO’s helicopter was up and assisting in locating a burglary suspect late at night when a 60-year-old resident in the area pointed a green laser at the police aircraft, essentially putting in peril the pilot, co-pilot, and everyone on the ground (heavy residential area with no body of water in which to crash-land). Note the frustration in the aviator’s voice and the fact that finding/arresting a burglar (felon) on the loose had to wait because of the laser-pointing impeding the assistance of the helicopter cops—imbecile behavior which could have resulted in retina damage, permanent blindness and mass casualty. One LAPD cop who was assaulted by a green laser lost sight in one eye and now has chronic debilitating migraines. He described it as this way: “I just felt my right eye was on fire.”
Florida’s statute legislating pointing a laser at an aircraft is as follows (in part, relevant to aircraft):
Misuse of laser lighting devices—(3) (a) Any person who knowingly and willfully shines, points, or focuses the beam of a laser lighting device on an individual operating a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft commits a felony of the third degree; (b) Any person who knowingly shines, points, or focuses the beam of a laser lighting device on an individual operating a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft and such act results in bodily injury commits a felony of the second degree.
In the brief video above, the boat operator claimed he “thought it was a drone” he was pointing the laser at. Gonna be interesting to see how this case plays out…
What do you think will be the disposition?