PLANT CITY (FOX 13) - A MacDill Air Force Base staff member was arrested and charged with shining a laser pointer at a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office helicopter as it flew over Plant City, investigators said Tuesday.
According to the sheriff's office, one of their helicopters was over the Walden Lake subdivision Friday night when the pilots spotted -- and recorded -- someone pointing a green laser at the aircraft.
"He's hitting us repeatedly and he's not being shy about it," the pilot can be heard saying on video recorded aboard the helicopter.
They said the suspect, later identified by deputies as William Polson, continued to shine the laser at the helicopter while the pilot guided deputies on the ground to the area.
Before they could get there, Polson allegedly got into a car and left his home, but the helicopter pilots continued to track him. Their colleagues on the ground caught up with him a few blocks away, found the laser, and arrested him.
The helicopter video, later shared by the sheriff's office, showed excerpts of the encounter, ending with the arrest.
"Good job, S.O. We got him and we got the, uh, device," a voice on the video can be heard saying.
"Outstanding," the pilot replies.
According to pilots, lasers pointed into their eyes at night can cause temporary blindness, a clear hazard to their own safety as well as those on the ground.
"If he loses control of the aircraft then he could crash into houses, he could crash into -- kill people on the ground besides killing the pilot and the co-pilot," said HCSO pilot Kevin Johnson, who was not in the cockpit that night but has previously been targeted by a laser pointer. "It causes temporary blindness in the cockpit. It's very distracting. It can cause permanent eye damage."
Polson, 57, was charged with misuse of a laser lighting device. He was released on $2,500 bond.
Polson's arrest report states that he told deputies he works as a historian at MacDill Air Force Base. It's unclear what, if anything, will happen at MacDill.
Story, video and photo: http://www.myfoxtampabay.com
William R. Polson, 57, is facing charges of misuse of a laser lighting device and obstruction or opposing an officer without violence.PLANT CITY --
A Plant City man who works for MacDill Air Force Base as a historian has been accused of pointing a laser at a Hillsborough County Sheriff's helicopter.
William R. Polson, 57, is facing charges of misuse of a laser lighting device and obstruction or opposing an officer without violence.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the helicopter was conducting routine flight operations at 11:30 p.m. last Friday near the Plant City Airport when it was hit by a green laser.
Pilot Kevin Johnson said lasers can be debilitating to a pilot.
"It causes disruption in the cockpit," he said. "It lights the cockpit up. It causes temporary blindness."
Pilots were able to pinpoint the area within the Walden Lake subdivision as the source of the laser, then obtained video of Polson while he was shining the laser at the helicopter, deputies said.
Polson continued to shine the laser at the helicopter while pilots guided patrol deputies to the area, the report said. However, while deputies were en route, Polson drove away from his home, so pilots directed ground units to his location. Those deputies pulled him over and took him into custody.
The arresting deputies said they found the laser in Polson's possession.
Deputies say Polson works at MacDill Air Force Base as a historian.
"It would surprise me that someone in the aviation industry would do that," Johnson said.
Polson was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on $2,500 bond. He posted bond Sunday night.
A spokesperson for MacDill Air Force Base said they weren't aware of his arrest until they were informed by the media. He is still employed as of now.
Source: http://www.baynews9.com
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office released video they say shows William Polson pointing a laser at one of their helicopters.
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