PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY — Santa Monica police are trying to find the person responsible for pointing a laser at a news helicopter Wednesday night.
SMPD Lt. Jay Trisler said around 11:15 p.m. a pilot of a KCLA 9 news chopper covering an officer involved shooting in Sunset Park reported seeing a green laser light. The helicopter was hovering above the 2900 block of Pico Boulevard.
No one was injured or arrested in the alleged incident, however, Trisler said police are trying to locate the source and have narrowed down the location where it originated from.
Trisler said it is a felony to point a laser at an aircraft as lasers can permanently damage a person’s eyesight and even cause blindness.
One Daily Press reader last week wrote a letter complaining about the noise created by news helicopters hovering over his home, which is located near the Chabad House synagogue near Broadway and 18th Street. News agencies flocked to the location after an explosion sent a 300-pound piece of concrete and a metal pipe through the roof of a nearby home.
Anyone with information regarding the laser incident can contact the SMPD at (310) 458-8599 and ask for the watch commander.
news@www.smdp.com
