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UK: £300 fine for Rotherham man attempting to distract a police helicopter

Ben Roe, 23, pleaded guilty in late August 2014 to aiming a laser pen at a police helicopter on July 28 2014. Roe, who lives in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was fined £300, plus £85 in court costs for his attempt to distract the pilot. His laser pen was also seized.

From The Star

UK: 200 hours of community work for South Yorkshire man

A 27-year-old man from Sheffield was sentenced in August 2012 to 200 hours of unpaid community service, and was ordered to pay £85 in court costs, for shining a laser at South Yorkshire’s police helicopter. Neil Shackleton aimed the laser from his bedroom window to the helicopter as it flew two miles away. On-board cameras helped determine the laser’s location, and ground units arrested Shackleton.

Neil Shackleton laser
Neil Shackleton


Police said the action could have caused the helicopter to crash.

Two other cases that happened at about the same time are still in court.

From The Star (and a more detailed, earlier version from The Star)