Bradenton man arrested after deputies say he aimed laser at sheriff’s helicopter
Bradenton police arrested a man Thursday night after deputies say he aimed a laser pointer at a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office helicopter.
The sheriff’s aviation unit reported the laser strike while flying over Bradenton and tracked the beam to a backyard near16th Street West in Bradenton. Deputies said the crew guided Bradenton police officers and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper to the home, where they arrested 39-year-old Tony Hill.
Deputies said Hill struck the helicopter with the laser pointer at least four times before they brought him into custody. Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime and a serious threat to aviation safety, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Lasers can momentarily blind pilots, putting crews and passengers at risk.
Video released by the sheriff’s office appeared to capture part of the incident on camera. In the footage, the helicopter crew asked “if anyone is available,” then radioed, “we have somebody hitting us with a laser up here.”
The crew directed a patrol truck toward the source of the light, telling ground officers to “keep going forward, keep going forward” and adding there “should be a little car in the driveway and then a four-door sedan.”
Body camera footage showed the arrest, capturing an officer shouting commands for Hill to turn around and put his hands behind his back. Deputies said Hill was holding a black pen-style laser pointer in his right hand at the time of the arrest.
Bradenton police arrest laser pointer suspect
When questioned by police, Hill initially told officers he was “only pointing at the tree” and claimed he did not know it was a crime to shine a laser at a helicopter, according to an arrest report.
Deputies said he later admitted he bought the laser pointer at a gun show and acknowledged he knew not to aim it at the aircraft. Hill said he may have hit the helicopter “by accident” while pointing the beam into the air and at trees, but also said he was the only person in the backyard using the device and that the laser could have obstructed the crew’s view, according to an arrest report.
Hill faces a third-degree felony charge of pointing a laser light at a pilot, according to jail records. Under Florida law, the crime is punishable by up to five years in prison. Jail records show he was booked and released Thursday at the Manatee County Jail after posting a $2,500 bond.
“Think it’s a harmless prank? Think again,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a social media post, emphasizing the seriousness of the crime.
In 2024, pilots reported 12,840 laser-strike incidents nationwide, a slight decrease from the record of 13,304 in 2023. So far in 2025, there have been 5,913 reports.
