By Juan Ortega
Sun-Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Be careful where you aim laser pointers, the Broward Sheriff’s Office urged Tuesday after a man was accused of “temporarily blinding” a sheriff’s pilot by shining such a device at his helicopter in Hallandale Beach.
The pilot and two crew members were able to land safely, but “it could have cost a life,” said sheriff’s spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion. Federal law prohibits pointing laser pointers at aircraft, she said.
Daniel Koppele, 23, of Hallandale Beach, was arrested Monday after he allegedly used a green laser pointer to light up the cockpit of a sheriff’s helicopter on patrol, said Hallandale Beach Police spokeswoman Capt. Sonia Quinones. Koppele was charged with misuse of a laser lighting device, a felony, police said.
Deputy Christine Ponticelli, a member of the sheriff’s aviation unit, said laser pointers aiming at law enforcement helicopters happens sporadically.
She said in extreme cases, the laser pointers could permanently blind someone. In other cases, they can briefly incapacitate aircraft personnel, causing a crash.
The results could be “catastrophic,” Ponticelli said.
In Monday’s incident, a sheriff’s helicopter was being used to canvass a neighborhood for robbers in an unrelated case at about 12:30 a.m Monday, Quinones said. That’s when the pilot “observed a green laser-pointing device, which struck him in the eyes,” Quinones said.
The incident forced the pilot to alter his flight path in an area with many high-rise buildings, putting the helicopter at risk of crashing, Quinones said.
The pilot was able to determine that the laser emerged from an apartment on the 2300 block of Diana Drive, a few blocks west of State Road A1A. When authorities visited the apartment, they retrieved the laser pointer, and Koppele admitted to the incident, Quinones said.
Koppele posted $1,000 bond and was freed from jail Monday, jail officials said.
Copyright 2009 Sun-Sentinel