Pointing laser at news helicopter a sin

New York: President Barack Obama signed a law in 2012 making it a federal crime to aim a laser pointer at an aircraft. Two years later, the FBI launched a new public awareness campaignSo-called laser attacks have become an increasing problem in the US, in part because handheld lasers have become more common and affordable. To this point, while there were a mere 283 such strikes, the Federal Aviation Authority reported 3,984 in 2014.Authorities arrested Stiven Lopez-Bender yesterday, a day after a criminal complaint was filed accusing him of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, the US Attorney for New Jersey's office announced. A 26-year-old man has been arrested in the US for allegedly pointing a green laser at least four times at a TV news helicopter racing to the scene of a fire The incident allegedly involving Lopez-Bender got a lot of attention in part because of video from CNN affiliate WABC, which showed a conspicuous green laser glaring at the chopper. The criminal complaint in that case states that a WABC reporter and helicopter pilot were flying about 1,000 feet up toward a fire in Elizabeth, New Jersey, when a green laser was aimed at and struck the flight deck of the helicopter through the main windshield.

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