W. Roosevelt Rd. & S. Pulaski Rd. — Reported Laser Incident Area
A 60-year-old Chicago man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he repeatedly aimed a green laser at a Cook County Sheriff’s Police helicopter flying over the West Side, the second such case brought against a Chicago-area man in less than a month. Allen Florence Jr. is charged with one count of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, stemming from an incident on September 15.
According to CWB Chicago, the helicopter crew notified Chicago police around 10:11 p.m. that a man on a scooter heading eastbound on Roosevelt Road near Pulaski had repeatedly shined a green laser at the aircraft. The crew asked officers to apprehend him if available, and Chicago police soon took Florence into custody in the 3600 block of West Roosevelt Road. He was released a few hours later after receiving a court date on a state misdemeanor disorderly-conduct charge, per CPD records cited in the report.
A Second Laser Case in a Month
Florence’s case follows the federal indictment of Ignacin Ramos, 36, who was charged with aiming a laser at a CPD helicopter over Chicago’s Northwest Side in August. The same CWB Chicago report notes that a CPD helicopter crew reported someone pointing a laser at its aircraft over Hermosa on August 11, then used mapping and night-vision camera systems to trace the beam to a man on a second-floor rear deck in the 4200 block of West Dickens Avenue, directing patrol officers to the home…