William Hill, Phoenix man arrested pointing laser at commercial aircraft & helicopter, telling cops he was trying to test how powerful green laser was.
An Arizona man has been arrested for allegedly pointing a laser at a commercial aircraft, police said.
In a statement, the Phoenix Police Dept identified the suspect as local man, William Hill, 35.
The incident happened just before 5:30 p.m. Thursday, following reports of a man shooting at commercial aircraft with a laser pointer, as the planes were about to land at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
‘testing out how powerful it was.’
According to police, Hill ‘continued to shoot the laser pointer at the Phoenix police helicopter as patrol officers arrived in the area.’
As the police helicopter arrived, a green laser was reportedly pointed at the front of the cockpit. The crew tracked the origin of the laser beam to a house on Indianola Avenue and saw two men standing in the backyard, AZ Family reported.
Officers arrived moments later and found three men standing in the driveway. According to court documents, when asked about the incident, two residents said Hill ‘has lots of gadgets,’ including a green laser he uses to play with cats.
Police then spoke with Hill, who first said no one had a laser. After being detained, documents say Hill admitted to owning a green laser and that he was using it in the backyard, ‘testing out how powerful it was.’ He said he was not trying to point it at planes or helicopters.
Officers later recovered a laser from the home, and Hill was booked into the Maricopa County jail on two felony counts of aiming a laser pointer at an occupied aircraft.
The incident according to the FAA was still under investigation.
The FAA added that pilots reported 9,500 laser strikes to the FAA in 2022.
‘Two hundred and seventy-eight pilots have reported an injury from a laser strike to the FAA since 2010. People who shine lasers at aircraft face FAA fines of up to $11,000 per violation and up to $30,800 for multiple laser incidents. The FAA issued $120,000 in fines for laser strikes in 2021,’ the FAA said.
