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.
Officers arrested Ramos after he reportedly produced a laser pointer from his waistband when asked where it was, according to the police report described by CWB Chicago. State prosecutors initially charged him with three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, but they dropped the case after federal prosecutors secured a grand jury indictment, the outlet reported. As the Chicago Tribune reported, Ramos pleaded not guilty to the federal charge at his arraignment in Chicago, with a status hearing set for December 3.
Federal Penalties and a Growing Crackdown
A federal conviction for aiming a laser at an aircraft can carry a fine of up to $250,000 and a prison sentence of up to five years, the report states. Under federal law, anyone who knowingly aims a laser-pointer beam at an aircraft within U.S. special aircraft jurisdiction, or at its flight path, may be fined or imprisoned for not more than five years, according to the text of the statute published by the U.S. Code. Federal prosecutors have also said laser beams can cause temporary pilot blindness or disorientation and potentially a fatal crash.
The FBI’s Chicago Field Office has said there has been a significant and dangerous increase in laser strike events over the past two years in the Chicagoland area, and has declared a zero-tolerance enforcement policy against people who point lasers at aircraft, warning the public to keep laser pointers out of the sky. The bureau says it and its law enforcement partners are working closely with prosecutors to bring offenders to justice, and federal prosecutors have increased their interest in laser-at-aircraft cases, according to the same report.
A Pattern Playing Out Statewide
The uptick isn’t new to the region. Reported laser strikes in Illinois rose 164%, from 162 in 2020 to 428 in 2021, while the greater Chicago area alone saw a 230% jump over the same stretch, climbing from 119 strikes in 2020 to 393 in 2021, according to data reported by NBC Chicago. Nationally, the Federal Aviation Administration has said reported laser strikes have fallen for three straight years, with 4,470 reported in 2026 — a 24% decrease from the same point the previous year, per the agency’s own statement.
