Update: Comments from Trooper Nick Olivo were added to this article.
SAGINAW, MI -- A Freeland man accused of shining a laser pointer at a Michigan State Police helicopter could soon face a federal charge.
Michigan State Police Lt. David Kaiser said the MSP helicopter was flying over Saginaw on March 18 when the flight crew headed to an area where a traffic stop was taking place.
The flight crew reported seeing a flash on the ground before the beam found its way to the helicopter's cockpit, according to Kaiser.
"The third time he was able to hit the chopper with it and lit up the cockpit," Kaiser said.
The flight crew located where it was coming from and provided information to police on the ground.
Kaiser said a man there was located and interviewed. Police said he told them that he bought the laser because he thought it was cool. He also said he did not know it was a police helicopter he was aiming at, police allege.
The man was arrested and is expected to be charged with aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, which is a five-year federal felony.
Kaiser said there is no state law addressing the issue.
Trooper Nick Olivo, tactical flight officer with the MSP, said laser pointers interfere with the safe operation of an aircraft.
"The beam expands from the ground," Olivo said. "It can fill the cockpit and blind the pilot."
Olivo said that commercial airliners also are targeting frequently.
"When they get it they don't have the ability to direct law enforcement to it as we do," he said.
In January, another laser beam was aimed at an MSP helicopter that was patrolling Saginaw. There was another incident last week in Detroit, Kaiser said.
The Freeland man's name is being withheld pending arraignment.
Bob Johnson is a reporter for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-395-3295, by email at bob_johnson@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.