Friday , March 29 2024

Fresno Police: Air-1 Video Shows Laser Attack on Helicopter

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<p>Video from Fresno Police’s Air-1 shows a suspect pointing a powerful green laser at their helicopter Thursday night. The video also shows the officers making the arrest. </p><p>The laser attack set off a chain of events that landed two officers in the hospital.&nbsp;It wasn’t the officers in the air, but those on the ground who were rushing to the source of the attack, when a vehicle struck the officers’ car.</p><p>&quot;Broadsided the police car. The officers inside were injured. The passenger officer, where the impact was–most of the impact–seriously injured,&quot; said. Lt. Joe Gomez with the Fresno Police Department.</p><p>That officer suffered a broken leg and a fractured back. The officer driving was knocked unconscious.</p><p>Up in the sky, the chase&nbsp;continued. FLIR video from Air-1 shows officers arresting the laser-pointing suspect, 28-year-old Johnny Quenga.</p><p>Other squad cars arrived at the scene, directed there by the helicopter’s spotter. </p><p>Police said Quenga used an airsoft rifle to point the laser.</p><p>&quot;He had a laser attached to an airsoft rifle–looked just like a regular assault rifle,&quot; Gomez said.</p><p>Leona Stone, owner at&nbsp;LR Stone’s Firearms, often sells airsoft rifles and mounted lasers.</p><p>&quot;If it was attached to a firearm, you don’t point that at any kind of aircraft or anyone. You point it at a target that you plan on shooting,&quot; Stone said.</p><p>She&nbsp;demonstrated why it’s dangerous to do what police said&nbsp;the suspect did Thursday night.</p><p>When a green laser shined on our lens, the green light filled the screen. Now imagine flying a helicopter in those kinds of conditions.</p><p>&quot;I certainly wouldn’t understand why anyone would be pointing a green or red [laser] at aircraft,&quot; Stone said.</p><p>It’s a scenario that’s played out far too often in the skies of the Valley–law enforcement aircraft coming under laser attack.</p><p>The consequences can be disastrous, and&nbsp;the penalties are&nbsp;severe.</p><p>Late last month 34-year old Jeremy Danielson of Clovis was federally indicted for allegedly pointing a laser at a&nbsp;CHP aircraft.</p><p>Last year, another Clovis man was sentenced to 14-years in prison for pointing a laser at a Fresno police helicopter.</p></div>

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