Rocklin, Calif.- During the evening hours of July 16th, the Placer County Sheriff’s Department Helicopter was on routine patrol over the City of Rocklin when someone on the ground and within the Rocklin city limits pointed a laser at the helicopter.
The Rocklin Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, assisted by the Placer County Sheriff’s Department, tracked down a suspect and arrested him. Jamie Downie, 34, of Rocklin was arrested for discharging a laser at an occupied aircraft.
Authorities want to remind the public that pointing a laser beam at an aircraft isn’t only a crime, it”s dangerous and can cause serious injury to the occupants. Loss of pilot vision and air-ground reference can result in serious and catastrophic outcomes that can lead to both crew and passenger injury and loss of life, as well as imperil citizens on the ground.
Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies have united in deterring and prosecuting criminal laser strikes against aircraft. Such efforts will ensure safety in our airspace.
If you have any information about this case or any other cases of the pointing of lasers at aircraft, please contact the Rocklin Police Department or the local police jurisdiction where the incident occurred.
The suspect was released on his Promise to Appear, and no booking photo is available.
