14 DAY TRIAL // A man in Orlando, Florida, is facing a sentence of up to five years in prison after aiming a laser beam at an Orange County Sheriff’s Office helicopter.
The police officers in the helicopter were responding to an attempted burglary in Orlando near East Colonial Drive when a green light illuminated the cockpit. Upon investigation, it was determined that someone from the ground pointed a laser beam at them.
The perpetrator did it on purpose
This was not an unintentional incident as the person aiming at the aircraft did it multiple times. He was identified as Joseph Parrott (31), who pointed the light amplification device four times at the helicopter, from a car.
Such occurrences have increased in frequency in the US; previous similar interferences have already been punished, as in the case of 26-year-old Brett Lee Scott, who back in August was ordered to serve one year and nine months in prison (and three years of supervised release) after pointing a laser beam at a helicopter from Kern County Sheriff’s Office.
The danger of launching a laser beam at an aircraft is that it can impair the pilot’s flying abilities by blinding him (flash blindness). The visual impairment effects of a laser hitting the eye can last for a few minutes, which can cause to disorientation leading to a catastrophe.
Sentencing scheduled for February, 2015
The recent incident involving Parrott happened on July 2, at 3 AM, with the defendant sitting in a Pontiac sedan as a passenger.
After the source of blinding light was traced on the ground with the help of the helicopter crew, deputies pulled the car over and found Parrott.
As non-harmful as it may appear, this type of crime is a very serious one since it can have disastrous consequences on the public safety. A larger number of forces need to be deployed since finding the emitter is an action coordinated from the air to units on the ground. Moreover, the devices themselves are small and very easy to conceal.
These light-emitting devices are not difficult to find and no special permit is required for purchasing them. In 2013, there were 3,960 reports of individuals shining lasers at aircrafts in the United States, and the number has not decreased in 2014.
Law enforcement takes these incidents very seriously and the Federal Bureau of investigation is often involved in the inquiry.
Parrot has been indicted on September 3 and he is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on February 2, 2015.
