Connor Grant Brown, 30, was arrested for aiming a green laser pointer about eight times at a Maryland State Police helicopter on January 16 2017. The crew abandoned their mission (looking for a man running barefoot in cold temperatures), and landed. Two of the four persons on board — the pilot and the crew chief — went to Frederick Memorial Hospital for treatment. They were later released but will have to return for follow-up testing. The two men went back to work the following day.

Connor Grant Brown

Brown faces state charges of reckless endangerment, obstructing and hindering, and shining a laser pointer at an aircraft.

According to a trooper who was in the helicopter, the laser had a power of 100 milliwatts. The U.S. limit for laser pointers is 5 milliwatts. [The laser itself is legal, but it is illegal to sell lasers over 5 milliwatts as a “pointer” or for pointing purposes. And of course it is illegal to aim a laser pointer at an aircraft in the U.S.]

The trooper also said “he experienced spots on his vision after the laser hit the helicopter, as if he had just looked at the sun. While most sun spots disappear in a few blinks, the spots from the laser did not. He also experienced minor pain that he described to be similar to windburn.”

The trooper said the helicopter pilot described his vision as “sandy.”

A statement of probable cause described Brown’s explanation to troopers regarding why he aimed the laser at the helicopter.

At about 1 am Brown woke up due to a “buzzing sound.” The unknown aircraft flew over his house “every minute, at some points shaking the windows.” Brown aimed his $20 internet-purchased laser “to signal the operator to stop flying so close to the house.”

After police showed up at his house, “my heart sank in my chest.” He apologized and said he did not mean to cause any harm from his “horrible, horrible mistake… From start to finish, what I did was wrong.”

From CBS Baltimore, Carroll County Times initial story, Carroll County Times follow-up story, and Carroll County Times editorial “Use common sense with laser pointers.” Thanks to Capt. Dan Hewett and Greg Makhov for bringing this to our attention.

Tags: US, Maryland, Police, Helicopter, Age: 30-39, Color: Green, Photo: Suspect, Sex: Male

A 12-year-old boy aimed a green laser beam at a Maryland State Police helicopter on October 12 2014. The aircraft was returning from a medivac mission when it was illuminated four times by the beam, near Mount Airy MD.

Ground police who were directed by the helicopter to the laser’s source. The boy was given a warning. Police described the laser as an “astronomy” laser used to locate objects in the sky.

From the Baltimore Sun, WFMD, and CBS Baltimore

Tags: US, Maryland, Police, Helicopter, Age: 10-19, Color: Green

Marc Webster was lying in bed at 1:45 am on August 30 2011 when he heard a police helicopter over his home in Chard, Somerset. He picked up a laser pen from his window sill -- he usually used it to point at trees and scare birds away -- and aimed it at the helicopter. Webster later told police “he pointed the laser at the helicopter to see if it would reach, but [he] did not think it did.”

Pilot Paul Maddox was unable to continue investigating a car crime, and broke off his mission. He and two other officers were dazzled by the laser light. Webster said he aimed the laser for less than 15 seconds; the officers in the helicopter said it was around five minutes.

On September 22, Webster pleaded guilty to recklessly or negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft or person in an aircraft. Sentencing is scheduled for October 14.

A news report said Webster, 45, was a drug user: “He said it had been a crazy day after he went out in the morning to score some heroin, but believes he was instead given ketamine, which didn’t treat him well.”

From This Is The West Country

Tags: US, Maryland, Baltimore, Police, Helicopter, Age: 10-19, Color: Green

A 13-year-old was charged with reckless endangerment and “laser pointer misuse” after a Maryland State Police helicopter was tracked on April 17 2011, in eastern Baltimore County. Both pilots were temporarily blinded by the green beam. They were able to recover their night vision and train their spotlight on a home that the boy ran into. Ground units recovered a laser pointer from the home.

A police spokesperson called the event a “dangerous and irresponsible act... I urge parents whose children have laser pointers to remind them that engaging in this dangerous activity could lead to criminal charges.”

From the Essex-Middle River Patch and Southern Maryland Online

Tags: US, Maryland, Age: 10-19, Helicopter, Police, Color: Green

A $5000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) who aimed a laser into the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines flight approaching Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The flight, which originated in Milwaukee, was 2000 feet over the town of Millersville, near Old Mill Road and Kenora Drive, when it was illuminated around 6:45 pm on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011. Millersville is about 8 miles from BWI Airport.

According to the FBI, the eyes of both pilots were injured. The pilots “took their eyes off of the instruments during final approach, but the aircraft landed safely.”

The reward money is coming from both the FBI and Maryland Transportation Authority Police. Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 410-265-8080 or the Maryland Transportation Authority Police at 410-859-7041.

From the Baltimore Sun and HometownAnnapolis.com. Thanks to Dan Hewett, FDA/CDRH for bringing this to our attention.

Tags: US, Maryland, Southwest Airlines, Reward, Airplane, Map, Color: Unknown, Unknown perpetrator

A 35-year-old man who illuminated a State Police helicopter was charged by Maryland with reckless endangerment, attempted second-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, and prohibited use of a laser pointer. Federal charges may also be filed.

David H. Hopwood of Sykesville, MD “repeatedly targeted” the helicopter. Ground police were notified; the helicopter then located the source. Hopgood was arrested by a trooper without incident.

"Shining lasers at aircraft can have dangerous and even deadly consequences," Maryland State Police said in a news release. "A direct laser strike in the cockpit can cause temporary blindness and disorientation for the flight crew."

From MSNBC via WBAL-TV
Thanks to Howard Donovan for bringing this to our attention.

Tags: Helicopter, Maryland, Police, Age: 30-39, Color: Unknown