A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s helicopter was taking part in ground-to-air coordination training in Agoura Hills with deputies from the Malibu / Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at 11:30 p.m., on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015.
During the training, the sheriff’s helicopter flight crew told patrol deputies that a laser had been pointed at the helicopter from the ground. The pilot directed deputies to the source of the laser strike, which is house in the 5300 block of Francisca Way, in Agoura Hills.
An investigation by the deputies at the residence led to the arrests of 31-year old Christopher Cooper of Lake Elsinore and 33-year old Tanjelina Meredith of San Juan Capristrano. The suspects were visiting a friend at the Agoura Hills home. The suspects were arrested for the felony charge of felony discharging a laser at an aircraft, 247.5 PC California Penal Code. Bail was set at $20,000.
If you see someone point a laser at an aircraft, call 9-1-1.
You could save the lives of the flight crew and also the people on the ground.
The Aero Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department began keeping laser strike statistics on our aircraft in early 2010. Since then, LASD aircraft have struck 35 times.
In 24 of those events, we were able to identify the suspect and he/she was arrested by ground units and booked for Pointing a Laser at an Aircraft, 247.5 PC California Penal Code Section. If the suspect is prosecuted federally by the U.S. Attorney, Federal Statute 18 USC 32 (a) (5), carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in Federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
In addition, the FAA can impose a civil fine of $11,000 per laser strike on suspects (regardless of the outcome of the criminal case), under CFR 91.11.
There are four types of physiological reactions to laser strikes:
• Dazzle
• After-Image Formation (light a flashbulb going off in your eye)
• Flash-Blindness
• Irreversible Damage to the retina
In any case, these effects can cause a pilot to lose control of an aircraft and crash.
