airtraffic

Author Topic: Florida man temporarily blinds pilot with laser pointer, sheriff says  (Read 2921 times)

Offline KB4TEZ

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so proud to be from Flori-duh.  what an idiot.

https://cbs12.com/news/offbeat/video-florida-man-blinds-pilot-with-laser-pointer
(video in the link as well)

SARASOTA, Fla. (CBS12) — A Florida man is accused of temporary blinding a pilot and zapping a sheriff's office helicopter with a laser pointer.

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office arrested 41-year-old Charlie James Chapman on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, pointing a laser light at a pilot with injury, and pointing a laser light without injury.

On Wednesday night, deputies took a call about a laser being pointed at pilots landing planes at the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport.
The sheriff's office sent its own helicopter to investigate when a laser light hit the cockpit. The camera on the helicopter recorded the man pointing the laser light at the pilot. The man's also caught on camera throwing rocks at the helicopter.

The helicopter crew directed a ground team to the man's location. As they moved in, the sheriff's office said Chapman grabbed a hammer and swung it toward deputies.

Deputies used a Taser to take Chapman down. They found a laser pointer in his pocket, the sheriff's office said. Before his trip to jail, deputies took him to the hospital to be medically cleared.

Investigators later learned Chapman pointed the laser pointer at a plane on four occasions. One pilot told investigators the laser pointer blinded him temporarily as he approached the airport. The pilot said the vision in his eye was still blurry.

Chapman is also charged with resisting arrest without violence.



Offline joeyb747

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Re: Florida man temporarily blinds pilot with laser pointer, sheriff says
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2020, 05:10:45 AM »
 :x
Why?? Why would anyone do this??