HAWTHORNE – A 41-year-old Ossining man has been arrested and charged with shining a green laser at a Westchester County Police helicopter on Friday night as it traveled along the Hudson River shoreline in Ossining.
Just before 10 p.m., the aviation crew reported that someone had aimed a laser into the cockpit, temporarily blinding the pilot and a tactical flight officer on board.
The pilot maintained control of the aircraft and changed course to avoid being blinded by the laser.
At the same time, the crew radioed that the suspect involved was a man on a bicycle in Snowden Park.
Ossining Police officers responded and took Anthony Lopez of Main Street into custody and confiscated the laser.
He was transported to county police headquarters in Hawthorne where he was charged with directly a laser at an aircraft and assault, both as felonies.
“Shining a laser at a police helicopter, or at any aircraft, is a serious crime that endangers the polit, and other persons onboard and the public in the event a crash results,” said Public Safety Commissioner Terrance Raynor.
Lopez was arraigned and remanded to the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla.
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