Caught red/green handed
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Caught red/green handed
Video: Watch: police home in on man who pointed laser pen at helicopter - Telegraph
A police helicopter pilot who was dazzled by a laser pen used thermal imaging cameras to find the culprit from 1,300 feet, single him out from his group of friends and guide police colleagues on the ground to his exact location.
The moment police officers knocked on the door to arrest Christopher Vowles, who was sat in the back garden of a house in Birmingham drinking with friends, was then caught on the helicopter's on-board camera - as was the moment he tried to get rid of the laser pen by throwing it over the fence.
The footage was released by police on Thursday after Vowles, a 23 year-old shop worker, was given a suspended sentenced for putting the lives of the helicopter crew at risk.
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) craft was flying over Birmingham, in preparation for a surveillance mission, when Vowles shone the laser pen directly at it several times, disorientating the crew and temporaily blinding the pilot.
Once the crew had recovered, they were able to see that the green light was coming from a house in Kitts Green in the city.
The video shows that using the on-board thermal imaging cameras, they homed in on the property where they could see a group of men sat in the back garden laughing and drinking.
The group – unaware that the pilot had alerted colleagues on the ground – continued to laugh and joke, even gesturing up at the helicopter and raising their beer bottles in the air towards it to toast their laser prank.
The footage shows the men stopped laughing however when 15 minutes later there was a knock at the door.
One of them can be seen getting up to answer the door while Vowles is caught throwing the laser pen over a fence when he sees that it is two police officers.
The footage shows the officers going into the back garden where the men put their hands in the air and the pilot – who is watching from above - is able to tell the officer exactly who was shining the light.
“The lad in front of you, not the one with his hands in his pockets, to the left of him, bald head, T-shirt – do you see the one?,” he is heard saying on the video.
“The one with his hands up in the air?” His colleague replies.
“Affirm – he chucked behind you into the corner of the garden,” the pilot replied.
Vowles was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to seven months suspended for two years and 250 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge and £300 of costs having previously admitted recklessly or negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft.
The court heard the TK Maxx worker “persistently” shone the laser, which he bought from Spain, at the helicopter’s cockpit in the early hours of July 31.
Scott Coughtrie, prosecuting, said the pilot flew with lights on so those on the ground would know a helicopter was passing overhead.
But he said the laser was shone at the cockpit four times, dazzling the crew.
Mr Coughtrie said: “(The pilot) was targeted by the green laser which was directly and persistently aimed at the aircraft.
“The sky was obscured by the haze of the laser.”
Mr Coughtrie said the beam created a “bloom effect” which blinded the pilot and could have had “dire consequences.”
Judge Paul Farrer said: “It was conduct that caused real danger.
“The helicopter was over a built-up area.
“That which you did plainly had the potential to lead to catastrophic results both for the occupants of the helicopter and wholly innocent members of the public below who were probably sleeping in their beds.”
Afterwards, Martin Knowles, West Midlands region NPAS manager, said: "This was not accidental... it was a deliberate act. The demeanour of the people in the garden illustrates the attitude of many people - laughing and joking and believing their actions were somehow harmless fun.
"But aiming a laser pen at any aircraft, be it a police helicopter, air ambulance or commercial plane, can have disastrous consequences - it's certainly no laughing matter.
"The police take laser pen incidents very seriously - and of course it's easy for us to identify offenders as the light beam directs us straight to them, whilst high-tech on-board cameras enable us to keep tabs on them should they try to disappear."
The moment police officers knocked on the door to arrest Christopher Vowles, who was sat in the back garden of a house in Birmingham drinking with friends, was then caught on the helicopter's on-board camera - as was the moment he tried to get rid of the laser pen by throwing it over the fence.
The footage was released by police on Thursday after Vowles, a 23 year-old shop worker, was given a suspended sentenced for putting the lives of the helicopter crew at risk.
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) craft was flying over Birmingham, in preparation for a surveillance mission, when Vowles shone the laser pen directly at it several times, disorientating the crew and temporaily blinding the pilot.
Once the crew had recovered, they were able to see that the green light was coming from a house in Kitts Green in the city.
The video shows that using the on-board thermal imaging cameras, they homed in on the property where they could see a group of men sat in the back garden laughing and drinking.
The group – unaware that the pilot had alerted colleagues on the ground – continued to laugh and joke, even gesturing up at the helicopter and raising their beer bottles in the air towards it to toast their laser prank.
The footage shows the men stopped laughing however when 15 minutes later there was a knock at the door.
One of them can be seen getting up to answer the door while Vowles is caught throwing the laser pen over a fence when he sees that it is two police officers.
The footage shows the officers going into the back garden where the men put their hands in the air and the pilot – who is watching from above - is able to tell the officer exactly who was shining the light.
“The lad in front of you, not the one with his hands in his pockets, to the left of him, bald head, T-shirt – do you see the one?,” he is heard saying on the video.
“The one with his hands up in the air?” His colleague replies.
“Affirm – he chucked behind you into the corner of the garden,” the pilot replied.
Vowles was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to seven months suspended for two years and 250 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge and £300 of costs having previously admitted recklessly or negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft.
The court heard the TK Maxx worker “persistently” shone the laser, which he bought from Spain, at the helicopter’s cockpit in the early hours of July 31.
Scott Coughtrie, prosecuting, said the pilot flew with lights on so those on the ground would know a helicopter was passing overhead.
But he said the laser was shone at the cockpit four times, dazzling the crew.
Mr Coughtrie said: “(The pilot) was targeted by the green laser which was directly and persistently aimed at the aircraft.
“The sky was obscured by the haze of the laser.”
Mr Coughtrie said the beam created a “bloom effect” which blinded the pilot and could have had “dire consequences.”
Judge Paul Farrer said: “It was conduct that caused real danger.
“The helicopter was over a built-up area.
“That which you did plainly had the potential to lead to catastrophic results both for the occupants of the helicopter and wholly innocent members of the public below who were probably sleeping in their beds.”
Afterwards, Martin Knowles, West Midlands region NPAS manager, said: "This was not accidental... it was a deliberate act. The demeanour of the people in the garden illustrates the attitude of many people - laughing and joking and believing their actions were somehow harmless fun.
"But aiming a laser pen at any aircraft, be it a police helicopter, air ambulance or commercial plane, can have disastrous consequences - it's certainly no laughing matter.
"The police take laser pen incidents very seriously - and of course it's easy for us to identify offenders as the light beam directs us straight to them, whilst high-tech on-board cameras enable us to keep tabs on them should they try to disappear."
