Post by Don Gieseke on Jun 5, 2014 7:51:42 GMT -6
According to the FBI this morning, there were 90 so-called “laser strikes” in the Dallas division alone last year, meaning that there were 90 incidents last year of someone on the ground aiming a laser pointer at aircraft passing overhead.
That includes, most infamously, Kenneth Santodomingo, now serving 30 months in federal prison after he picked the wrong helicopter to flash. Nationwide, the number of strikes has grown exponentially — “more than 1,100 percent” since 2005, according to the FBI.
In an effort to gut that staggering stat, the FBI this morning announced that it will pay up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of anyone aiming a laser at an aircraft. Today’s announcement marks the expansion of a pilot program that kicked off in February and is responsible for a 19 percent dip in reported cases among the 12 field offices involved. The new program expands to all 56 field offices.
In a release dispatched this morning, Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Diego Rodriguez says, “The expansion of this campaign will promote greater awareness and understanding of the threat that lasing poses to pilots and the public.”
Adds George Johnson, a federal air marshal who serves as the FBI’s laser liaison, “We want to encourage people to come forward when they see someone committing this crime, which could have terrible consequences for pilots and their passengers.”
Pointing a laser at a plane or helicopter has been a federal offense since 2012, punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Under Texas state law, it’s also a Class A misdemeanor, which comes with a max sentence of one year in jail and/or up to a $4,000 fine.
And if you were wondering who’d do such a thing: “teens and adults between the ages of 35-45,” says the FBI and Dallas PD. Between the hours of 3 and 4 in the morning, when nothing good ever happens.
That includes, most infamously, Kenneth Santodomingo, now serving 30 months in federal prison after he picked the wrong helicopter to flash. Nationwide, the number of strikes has grown exponentially — “more than 1,100 percent” since 2005, according to the FBI.
In an effort to gut that staggering stat, the FBI this morning announced that it will pay up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of anyone aiming a laser at an aircraft. Today’s announcement marks the expansion of a pilot program that kicked off in February and is responsible for a 19 percent dip in reported cases among the 12 field offices involved. The new program expands to all 56 field offices.
In a release dispatched this morning, Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Diego Rodriguez says, “The expansion of this campaign will promote greater awareness and understanding of the threat that lasing poses to pilots and the public.”
Adds George Johnson, a federal air marshal who serves as the FBI’s laser liaison, “We want to encourage people to come forward when they see someone committing this crime, which could have terrible consequences for pilots and their passengers.”
Pointing a laser at a plane or helicopter has been a federal offense since 2012, punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Under Texas state law, it’s also a Class A misdemeanor, which comes with a max sentence of one year in jail and/or up to a $4,000 fine.
And if you were wondering who’d do such a thing: “teens and adults between the ages of 35-45,” says the FBI and Dallas PD. Between the hours of 3 and 4 in the morning, when nothing good ever happens.