A New York man is behind bars after authorities said that he pointed a green laser at a police helicopter on Tuesday, briefly blinding the pilot.
The acts of James Dowling, 42, nearly caused a tragedy after he stepped up to the Brooklyn’s Red Hook Houses rooftop and flashed the light at the aircraft.
The incident occurred at around 9:30 p.m. as two NYPD helicopters monitored Black Lives Matter protests over George Floyd’s murder in lower Manhattan.
Dowling has no mental health issues records and his motives are unclear at this moment, police said.
He was charged with reckless endangerment, directing a laser at an aircraft, and trespass for being on the roof of the Columbia St. NYCHA building.
Pointing a laser at aircrafts causes pilots to lose control of the engine, disorients them, and sometimes harms their eyes.
Since Jan. 1, more than 2,034 similar incidents were reported nationwide.
