MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A man arrested and charged with a felony for flashing a laser pointer at a police helicopter Thursday night is speaking out about what he is calling “an honest mistake.”
“I would never point a light at something that could put another human’s life at risk. It’s stupid, it’s immature and illogical that you would want to do that to someone’s life,” said Kendrich Williams.
Williams told 7News he thought the helicopter was a drone.
He shared video with us to show what things looked like from his perspective.
He said, “It was just in the air with lights, and it comes and spins around me, so I started playing with the light towards it, and unbeknownst to me, it’s supposedly a real helicopter.”
Then police pulled up and cuffed Williams in Miami Beach, just before 10 Thursday night.
The arrest form says the pilot of the police chopper called for assistance after he said someone was aiming a laser at him from the area of 75th Street and the beach.
When police showed up they found Williams and searched him and took him into custody.
“And here we are today, I have a felony arrest,” said Williams.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration it’s a federal crime to aim a laser pointer at an aircraft because it can be extremely dangerous for the pilots.
“We don’t really go to jail or prison in this house. That is a shock,” said Williams’ family member Jonathan Jules.
However, Williams said he did it by mistake. Therefore he’s gonna talk to an attorney to figure how to move forward.
He said, “Hopefully at least get this case thrown out or at the very minimum not held against me.”
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