TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -
Shining a laser at an aircraft can get you arrested, especially if you target a police helicopter. Local police pilots are seeing a rise in incidents where lasers were pointed at their aircraft, posing a danger to pilots and the community.
Tucson Police pilot Chris Potter says last year the department dealt with 38 laser strikes.
"It will diffuse as it comes through the windscreen or hit something else in the cockpit and then all of a sudden instead of one beam you have literally hundreds," says Potter.
He says when citizens aim at their helicopters, it's no mistake.
"We had a 62-year-old male who thought it would be entertaining to go out and get the helicopter to stop flying over his house."
Deputy Chris Janes who flies for the Pima County Sheriff's Department is also noticing the upward trend in laser strikes. He says his pilots experience about two to three strikes every week.
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