Ajax teen charged for pointing laser at police helicopter

Air1 - No kidding.

AJAX, Ontario – A 19-year-old Ajax man is facing numerous charges for pointing a laser beam at a police helicopter that was searching for an impaired driver.

Cops said the suspected prankster put the aircraft and its crew in jeopardy, interfered with a police investigation and violated civil aviation laws.

On Saturday at around 8 p.m. Air1 was over Ajax assisting officers who were trying to locate a suspected impaired driver.

“The aircraft was flying at an altitude of 1,200 feet when the crew was struck by an intense green light coming from below. The pilot had to take immediate evasive action and descended rapidly in an attempt to avoid the laser strikes,” police said.

“The Air1 crew used on-board infrared technology to identify the location of persons standing in the backyard of a house. Responding ground units attended Parkins Drive in Ajax and a 19-year-old male was arrested without incident. A small, laser-pointing device was located.”

Brendon Schoenwald. of Hills Road in Ajax, is charged with: Obstruct Police; Common Nuisance; Mischief to Property; and Endangering Life under the Criminal Code. He was also charged under the Canadian Aviation Regulations for Projecting a Directed Bright Light Source at an Aircraft and under the Aeronautics Act for Dangerous Behaviour.

If convicted, the charge under the Aeronautics Act carries a maximum fine of $100,000 and/or five years in prison.

The officer in charge of the DRPS Air Support Unit, Staff-Sgt. Alan Mack, said he wants the public to understand that there is a danger to air crews and the community when small hand held laser beams are directed at aircraft.

“The use of any laser light beam creates potential hazards for aircraft operations. When directed into the cockpit, laser lights can create temporary blindness that may affect the pilot’s ability to operate the aircraft safely,” Mack said. “We take incidents of this nature very seriously.”

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4. Cadillac driver knowingly struck teen in Mississauga
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Posted by News Editor on Apr 7 2010. Filed under Canada, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry