PALM BAY, Fla. — A man was arrested Monday after deputies with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said he was shining a laser at a helicopter that was looking for a different suspect.
The sheriff's office's helicopter was helping the Palm Bay Police Department look for a suspect in a stabbing investigation on Monday. While searching, 33-year-old Dean Beolet decided to shine a laser at the chopper "multiple times," the agency explains on Facebook.
"Not only did the laser put officers from the Palm Bay Police Department in harms way as it impacted the equipment our team was utilizing to search for the armed suspect, but it also put our flight crew in immediate danger as the laser refracted through our pilots night goggles temporarily blinding him and blurring his vision," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
The laser pointer reportedly impacted the pilot's vision to the point of having to turn controls over to the tactical flight officer, who was luckily inside the chopper.
Eventually, the crew in the chopper were able to help officers find Beolet and arrest him. He is facing one count of felony misuse of a laser light and one count of "being a moron," according to the sheriff's office.
"While 'Blinded by the Light' at one time was a hit song, now it’s a guaranteed one way trip to Ivey’s Iron Bar Lodge when you choose to temporarily blind one of our helicopter pilots by pointing a laser at them!!" the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook.
The pilot went to an optometrist and was cleared to fly following the incident.