Two men have been arrested for allegedly shining laser pointers at a Nashville Police helicopter in separate incidents Wednesday night. The chopper was flying over Madison when the crew saw a green laser shining through the cockpit. The laser caused the flight crew to experience complete blindness at times. An officer in the helicopter directed police on the ground to the source of the laser which led them to an apartment complex where they encountered 19-year-old Hector Otoniel. Police located a laser device nearby and say Otoniel admitted to shining the laser at the MNPD helicopter. He was arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The same night, the same helicopter was targeted again by someone with a laser pointer. Police on the ground converged on the source and found 25-year-old Jamale Strong still using the green laser. Strong reportedly told police he did not know it was illegal to point a laser at aircraft. He has also been charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.