Jail for Pakenham ‘goose’ who pointed laser at cop chopper
A magistrate has had stern words for a Pakenham dad who shone a laser at a police helicopter and tried to take a cop’s gun.
South East
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A “goose” and “absolute moron” who shone a laser at a cop chopper and then tried to take a gun from a police officer while being arrested has been jailed.
But Bernard Pippin walked free on a community corrections order after his time spent on remand was classed as time-served.
The 43-year-old father of one pleaded guilty to interfering with an aircraft, resisting police, possessing cannabis and refusing to wear a bike helmet charges at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
The court heard a police helicopter pilot reported a laser being shone in his direction as he flew over the Cardinia area at around 9.25pm on November 4 last year.
Officers tracked the culprit to Pippin’s Pakenham home, but he refused to let them in so they kicked down his door.
He ran towards the kitchen before turning back and lunging at one officer.
He resisted arrest, lashed out and tried to grab a police member’s gun before he was subdued with capsicum spray.
A search of his home then uncovered two imitation firearms, one of them a plastic assault rifle that had been painted black, and a small realistic-looking toy handgun.
The laser pointer was found in a freezer.
The court was told police helicopters only have one pilot, and if he or she was blinded by a laser the chopper could have crashed in a residential area with catastrophic results.
In March last year Pippin had another anti-police experience when he was caught riding his pushbike in Pakenham without a helmet.
When asked his name he became abusive, pushing officers and again having to be capsicum sprayed.
He had a small amount of cannabis in his pocket at the time.
Pippin’s defence lawyer said he went on a downward spiral after losing his hospitality job due to COVID-19.
He said he didn’t have a good explanation for shining the laser at the chopper but wasn’t aware of how dangerous it could be.
He said the firearms were just toys and he had already spent well over two months on remand.
Magistrate Costas Kilias said not only had he been “garden variety goose”, he had let his 16-year-old son down.
“You’ve got to have rocks in your head, be an absolute moron to do that,” Mr Kilias said.
“It is gross stupidity; mercifully because of good luck nothing happened.”
He said the teenage boy should not have to bear any more consequences of not having a father around.
“Your son has already paid a price as result of your behaviour, you have failed him miserably.”
Pippin was jailed for 73 days, time he has already spent in custody, and released on a 15-month order with 200 hours of unpaid work.
He was also fined $200 for not wearing a bike helmet.
