---
title: "Police Helicopter Crew Lands In Parking Lot, Chases Down Florida Man Shining Laser Pointer"
description: "That's good hustle."
date: "2017-12-07"
modified: "2021-05-11"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/16791/police-helicopter-crew-lands-in-parking-lot-chases-down-florida-man-shining-laser-pointer"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "FAA"
  - "Florida Man"
  - "Helicopter"
  - "Laser"
  - "police"
---

# Police Helicopter Crew Lands In Parking Lot, Chases Down Florida Man Shining Laser Pointer

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/12/chopper-2.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Of all the idiotic behaviors out there, shining a laser pointer at aircraft in the sky is high up on the list of Things You Shouldn't Do. Not only is it incredibly dangerous (not to mention potentially blinding) for the crew on board, but there's always the chance that you'll accidentally target a [police helicopter](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/7255/man-arrested-for-flying-drone-near-police-helicopter>) whose pilots will come after you with a vengeance.

[*ABC News* reports](<https://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-man-arrested-flashing-laser-police-helicopter-temporarily/story?id=51639428>) that an air unit with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office was monitoring an operation involving a barricaded suspect on Tuesday night when someone on the ground began shining a laser pointer at the helicopter, which was hovering at about 800 feet. The two pilots on board, officers Stephen Bowman and Tim Bullis, told *ABC* affiliate *WFTS* that the beam blinded them for several seconds and was "extremely painful."

https://youtube.com/embed/M6fvqTp0Bqc

Eyesight recovered, the two realized the man with the laser was standing in front of a nearby house. With all the local ground units still occupied, Bowman made the call to land the [chopper](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/12292/motorcyclist-clocked-going-147-mph-while-fleeing-from-police>) in an empty community center parking lot and pursue the suspect himself. We'd love to see the look on his face when he realized the bird was coming after him, but alas, we'll have to settle for his awkward shirtless mugshot.

![message-editor%2F1512684019666-ht\_fl\_laser2\_171207ka\_9x10\_992.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1512684019666-ht_fl_laser2_171207ka_9x10_992.jpg>)
**Pasco County Sheriff's Office**

Bowman and Bullis quickly tracked down 27-year-old Ryan Fluke, who denied the charges at first before admitting he did it "for fun" and didn't realize the laser beam would actually reach the helicopter. He was arrested and charged with misuse of laser lighting devices, and later released on a $5,000 bail.

It's safe to say he got off easy—as Bowman points out in the video, blinding a pilot with a laser in the middle of any low-altitude maneuver can easily cause a crash, regardless of the type of aircraft involved. That's why doing so is a felony that will earn you up to 5 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)