It turns out that this relatively harmless form of entertainment is slightly less humorous when used on police officers. Twenty-three-year-old William Ernst apparently got bored sitting in the car in a Whataburger parking lot around 1:30 a.m., so he took out his trusty laser pointer and aimed it at a helicopter piloted by two OKC police officers.
When officers located the source of the laser, Ernst played innocent. Thankfully, his friend in the driver’s seat witnessed the event and confirmed that Ernst was indeed the culprit. Officers also found a firework in Ernst’s pocket.
In Ernst’s defense, he was manning the laser pointer while under the influence of alcohol. Unfortunately, being drunk in public doesn’t excuse stupidity and Ernst spent the night in jail for the laser incident, public intoxication and possession of fireworks.
This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2015.