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Who is Bryan Kelley? Portland protester charged with second-degree assault for shining laser into sergeant's eyes

The 36-year-old was indicted by a grand jury after he was accused of shining a high powered laser into a sergeant's eye during the Portland protests.

PORTLAND, OREGON: A grand jury had indicted a man on Tuesday, September 15. The man had been accused of injuring a Portland Police Bureau sergeant after he shined a high powered laser into his eyes during a protest. 

36-year-old Bryan Kelley was charged with one count of second-degree assault, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, and two counts of unlawful directing of light from a laser pointer, Katu reports. As per the indictment, Kelley had purposely used the laser against the officer. 

The authorities have been reportedly been investigating the incident that had taken place during a demonstration on August 25 which continued over into the hours of August 26. Court documents revealed that a police officer had seen Kelley on many occasions, aiming a blue laser into his eyes. 

The officer shared that the laser hit him in the eyes many times and he was forced to look away given the intensity of the laser. The authorities had found and arrested Kelley from close to Southwest 4th Avenue and Southwest Jefferson Street. 

The police had recovered a blue laser in his back pocket while they had arrested him, court documents revealed. The police said that detectives had later tested the laser by pointing it at a piece of cardboard which eventually burned. The Multnomah Co. District Attorney's office revealed how the officer had reported having problems with his eyes because of the laser. 

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced on Tuesday that the laser "was so powerful that it would burn through paper and cause dry material to catch fire." The Portland Police Bureau had also shared a video online of the laser burning a piece of cardboard, Fox News reports. 

The Portland Police Bureau said in a press release, "Members of the Portland Police Bureau Rapid Response Team (RRT) responded to City Hall to restore order. At least one member of RRT realized that Mr. Kelley had repeatedly directed a laser into the RRT member's eyes, causing injury."

The authorities have frequently encountered dangerous lasers while dealing with protests across the country. Acting Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Ken Cuccinelli revealed how many federal officers had been temporarily blinded because of lasers during the Portland protests. 

During a Senate hearing last month, Cuccinelli said, "We’ve had a number of officers who have days-long blindness. So far they’ve all kind of come back, if you will. You also get what’s called flash blindness, think of it as the old Kodak cameras where you’d get that blue spot and you can’t quite see your entire field of vision for a period of time."

Many social media users took to commenting on the news of Kelley's arrest. One such user shared, "He should receive a very severe sentence. Loss of vision has altered the LEO lives profoundly & if anyone is indifferent to this reality, wear a blindfold for an extended period of time. It’s a travesty that I even feel the need to mention the blindfold, compassion is limited to few."

Another added, "Shine the laser in his eyes. Literally an eye for an eye. Let's see how he likes it..."