Mayo One Crew Reports Laser Attack - Chatfield Man Charged

Chatfield, MN (KROC-AM News) - A rural Chatfield man has been charged with a gross misdemeanor offense for allegedly "aggressively" targeting the Mayo One helicopter with a laser.

According to the criminal complaint, the helicopter was returning to Rochester just before midnight on October 10 when the crew noticed the light from a green laser was shining into the aircraft. The court document says the pilot stated that the helicopter, which was not transporting a patient, was just east of Chatfield traveling at a speed of about 120 miles an hour at an altitude of about 1800 feet when the green light from the laser was observed in the cabin.

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The complaint says the pilot told investigators that the crew of the helicopter was able to track the source of the laser and illuminated a small mobile home or trailer with a vehicle parked next to it with the aircraft's spotlight. The pilot stated that "most people will stop using the laser after the searchlight is on them, but the person operating this green laser did not stop and was very aggressive." The flight nurse on the Mayo One crew also told investigators that in her nine years of being a flight nurse, this was the most aggressive that her helicopter had been shined.

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The court document goes on to say that a Chatfield police officer responding to the report of the laser incident was able to use his privately owned night observation device to locate the laser beam, which was coming from the rear window of a trailer. The officer indicated that he then waited for a Fillmore County deputy to arrive before approaching the residence.

T.J. Leverentz/TSM Rochester-Preston

The occupants of the residence, identified as 43-year-old Steven Clifford Johnson, was charged with a gross misdemeanor count of crimes involving aircraft-aim in discharge laser or other light.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Fillmore County Court, Johnson told the deputy that he was shined first by Mayo One and only shined back in retaliation. The deputy also stated that Johnson told him he was unsure if the helicopter had gunmen on board.

Johnson's next court appearance is scheduled in late February.

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