The historian for the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is accused of shining a laser at a sheriff's helicopter, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
William R. Polson, 57, faces a felony charge of misuse of a laser lighting device and a related misdemeanor charge of obstruction or opposing an officer without violence in connection with the March 13 incident, a sheriff's office news release says.
About 11 p.m. that night, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office helicopter was flying near an airport when someone shined a green laser at it, the news release says. The pilots figured out where the laser was coming from and took video of Polson shining the laser at them.
Before sheriff's deputies could arrive at his home, Polson got into his car and drove away, the news release says. When Polson was pulled over, deputies found that he had a laser.
Polson made his first appearance in court on March 15 and posted $2,500 bond, court records say. He has not yet been arraigned or entered a plea.
Despite his arrest, Polson remains the historian for the 6th Air Mobility Wing, wing spokesman Lt. Patrick Gargan said.
"Wing leaders are aware of the charges against Mr. Polson," Gargan said in an email Friday to Air Force Times. "Because of privacy concerns we are not able to provide comment nor will we speculate on any potential actions that may or may not be taken."
Polson could not be reached for comment by deadline.
News of Polson's arrest was first reported by the Tampa Tribune, which received an email from Polson the day after the Sept. 16, 2013, shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington D.C., in which he claimed he had been harassed by law enforcement helicopters for years.
"I've had numerous low-level harassing flyovers by aircraft (mostly helicopters, but also fixed-wing planes) from the Hillsborough County police, Tampa police and Clearwater Coast Guard," the newspaper quoted Polson as saying in the email. "The only connection I could find between the three seemed to be in Homeland Security."
He also claimed that he had complained to the Air Force Safety Center about the helicopters but to no avail, the newspaper reported.
