Quote from the Police Heli Pilot last night

[aldagoods]

"If you hit me with that flashlight one more time, I'll have you arrested for a felony!!"

As I heard this, from the chopper circling overhead, I rolled over in my bed and looked at my 120P on .3lumen mode on the nightstand --- got all paranoid, and shut it off. Man, 20 min, that guy was circling directly overhead, pissed off at someone.

But man, I wanted to go outside and see what was going on; but instead just hid all my lights and tried to go back to sleep.

So the question is, which one of you guys pissed off the chopper last night lives in Brentwood, CA?

hah. Has to be one of ya. Fess up.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

Wait-

did this really happen?

If so, that's quite a story.


...alright, I confess:

I took out my super-secret 3,454,323,090,454 lumen light and shone it all the way from NY to CA.


Seriously, though, that's pretty crazy!

 

[aldagoods]

hah LEDaddict -

Ya, it absolutely happened. About 12:30am pacific time, and I really wanted to go outside and check it out, but didnt want to be caught as the wrong guy with a light that could fit the bill. Because who leaves their house with out their EDC ya? I often shine my lights at night indoors into the corner of the room - just because [like im sure you all do] - and was like.. <explective> did I **** em off? No friggin way. Hearing that pilot was classic. He was mad pissed, understandably.

[note - I am not promoting this behavior, nor did I DO IT, and I appreciate all you LEO's out there --- but damn curious whatever light that person was using]

 

[Imon]

Exactly what crime are you committing by shining a bright flashlight up into the air?:shrug:

I mean, I understand it might be annoying to the pilot if you were following him around with your light but why would someone do that in the first place?

 

[Dave_5280]

It is probably an FAA violation as well as some charge for assault or endangering an officer.

There are enough LEOs on this site that I'm sure one of them will know for sure.

 

[Stillphoto]

I'd say it isn't a crime to shine a light in the air. To illuminate an aircraft of any variety is a different story.

On a film set we had a police copter circle the set and shine its light down. They then proceeded to blip their siren. The pilot came over the loudspeaker and said "Places everyone places. Roll camera. Annnd action!" and then flew off. Greatest thing I think any of us had ever heard come out of a police aircraft.

 

[PeterH]

Exactly what crime are you committing by shining a bright flashlight up into the air?:shrug:

If the flashlight were bright enough, and I have read of such beasts around here, it could momentarily blind the pilot. Very Not Good.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Did you say Brentwood? Isn't that OJ's old neighborhood? Maybe he's on the loose again.

Geoff

 

[Inliner]

Exactly what crime are you committing by shining a bright flashlight up into the air?:shrug:

I mean, I understand it might be annoying to the pilot if you were following him around with your light but why would someone do that in the first place?

Chopper pilots wear NVGs at night to fly. Hit him with a flashlight and all he sees is green. Not good, Sir. Not good.

 

[hotlight]

wasn't me...

was the chopper in the area before they made the announcement?

if so, it was probably a Brentwood resident trying to sleep that was waken up and decided to shine the cops(thinking it would get them out of there?, maybe just to **** the Police off?)

armchair lawyer:
I doubt there is any way a person can get convicted of a felony for shining a flashlight at a police helicopter..... unless they admit to it or caught red handed by a ground officer.

anything is possible with a lawyer and a crime taking place in Brentwood.
(OJ reference)

 

[StarHalo]

In many areas in CA, the police helicopter is kept in the air all the time, so if the chopper is near a traffic stop or something minor, he'll go ahead and circle/light the area. If you step out of your house, he's going to light you up to see what you're up to. So it would logically follow that if you stepped out with a flashlight, you're out there for a reason, possibly because you heard/saw the person he might be looking for.

So don't go roaming around outside with your flashlight when the police helicopter is flying around.

 

[arnold ziffle]

which Brentwood. there are two.

 

[aldagoods]

The chopper had been around for about 10 min before I heard the announcement. He hung a solid 10 after the fact circling close. I mean really close. Friggin windows vibrating.

And I haven't looked at the statutes regarding lights and helis but I'm pretty sure if they found me outside Hanging with a 220lm thrower and they hadn't positively Id'd the guy, regardless if I was the guy who did it, I'd end up in jail at least for the night. (from a practicing arm chair lawyer). Would a sub 100 lumen light affect a pilots vision at that distance? Especially a floodier beam?

 

[aldagoods]

And in in the west Los Angeles Brentwood about 3 blocks from the OJ mess.

 

[StarHalo]

And I haven't looked at the statutes regarding lights and helis but I'm pretty sure if they found me outside Hanging with a 220lm thrower and they hadn't positively Id'd the guy, regardless if I was the guy who did it, I'd end up in jail at least for the night.

You'd be fine as long as you didn't shine the light at the helicopter, he would assume you're there because you're looking for something or heard something, so you'd be getting some extra attention, but there'd be no legal issue by just using your flashlight outdoors.

 

[get-lit]

I'd say it isn't a crime to shine a light in the air. To illuminate an aircraft of any variety is a different story.

On a film set we had a police copter circle the set and shine its light down. They then proceeded to blip their siren. The pilot came over the loudspeaker and said "Places everyone places. Roll camera. Annnd action!" and then flew off. Greatest thing I think any of us had ever heard come out of a police aircraft.

That's awesome!

 

[get-lit]

Chopper pilots wear NVGs at night to fly. Hit him with a flashlight and all he sees is green. Not good, Sir. Not good.

Nah, modern NV have self-adjusting gain. The old flash out only happens in movies anymore :tinfoil:

 

[Ifrit]

I'm not certain on the legality of shining a flashlight at a pilot, but pointing ANY laser at a moving vehicle, police officer, or any aircraft is most certainly illegal. I believe they are all felonies. I guess with a sufficiently powerful flashlight, they could try arguing that it is just as harmful as a laser pointer.

 

[ypsifly]

I'm not certain on the legality of shining a flashlight at a pilot, but pointing ANY laser at a moving vehicle, police officer, or any aircraft is most certainly illegal. I believe they are all felonies. I guess with a sufficiently powerful flashlight, they could try arguing that it is just as harmful as a laser pointer.

Yeah we had that problem around here a few years ago. Some idiot was pointing a green laser at planes coming in and out of Detroit Metro. The feds were really worked up about it. I don't remember the wording of the law that was quoted but I do remember thinking that a flashlight would fit the bill. Something about just distracting a pilot is a big no no let alone blinding them.

 

[gallonoffuel]

For a second there, before I saw the posting time of the OP, I thought you saw what I saw last night. Around 4am in Central NJ I heard rotor chop, thought it was a street sweeper but it persisted. Looked outside to see a police helo hovering right above my back yard. I scanned the property with my 6P I keep by the nightstand, but I never shined it at the helo. Their spotlight was shined into the neighborhood behind my back fence, and then they circled and shined it into the wooded area on the side of my property. I kept on guard with my G19 handy and all the lights in the house turned off until the helicopter left and I felt that they got whoever they were looking for. This whole thing lasted about 30 minutes with the helo drifting right over my house about 5 times.