The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said the incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday while the helicopter was flying over 7th Street Northwest and 11th Avenue in Largo.
In a video shot inside the helicopter, released by the sheriff’s office, the deputies locate the boy pointing the laser and direct law enforcement on the ground to his location.
“Get up and get somebody on this gentleman. He’s blinding our pilot,” a deputy can be heard saying.
‘I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS A POLICE HELICOPTER’: A 13-year-old allegedly pointed a flare gun with a mounted green laser at a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office helicopter “because he was bored,” according to the sheriff’s office. https://t.co/kU9sdhlhDw pic.twitter.com/WvB3peynTr
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) April 20, 2024
Body camera footage from deputies on the ground show them approaching the young teen, who had a flare gun with a mounted green laser in his jacket.
The boy told the deputies that he did not know it was a law enforcement helicopter and was just shining the laser because he was “bored.”
According to a report from Fox News, “The boy was arrested and charged with felony misuse of a laser lighting device. He was taken to the Pinellas County Juvenile Assessment Center.”
“According to Florida statute, it is a third-degree felony for any person to knowingly and willfully shine, point or focus the beam of a laser lighting device on an individual operating a motor vehicle, vessel or aircraft,” the report added.
The post Florida 13-Year-Old Arrested for Shining Laser at Sheriff’s Helicopter — ‘He Keeps Blinding Our Pilot’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
