A man who allegedly spent his night shining a laser pointer into the cockpits of several aircraft over Vernon has been arrested.
Nav Canada notified police it had received several reports from pilots that someone was pointing a green laser at commercial aircraft after 11 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9.
Mounties went out to search for the green beam, believed to be coming from the Becker Park area. The RCMP located and attempted to arrest the man, but allege the man attempted to assault the arresting officer. The man continued to resist arrest until additional officers arrived to help take the man into custody, police said.
Fortunately, our officers were not physically injured while dealing with this individual,
said Const. Chris Terleski.
Thankfully, all the involved aircraft were able to land safely. We want to remind the public that pointing a laser at an aircraft poses an extreme risk to aviation and endangers the lives of both the occupants of the aircraft, as well as the people on the ground.
The 39-year old Vernon man remains in police custody and faces charges under both the Criminal Code and Aeronautics Act.
If convicted, pointing a laser into an aircraft cockpit can net the offender up to five years in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.
READ MORE: Central Okanagan Search and Rescue looking for new building
READ MORE: 21st annual Cops for Kids fundraiser kicks off B.C. Interior journey in Kelowna
@michaelrdrguez
michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our daily newsletter.