Canadian police took one person into custody late Wednesday after a federal law enforcement helicopter flying over the protests in Detroit was targeted by a laser beam from across the Detroit River in Canada.
Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency that patrols and monitors U.S. borders on land, air, and sea, said one of its Air and Marine Operations choppers was struck by a green laser beam while assisting local law enforcement with overhead security Wednesday around 10 p.m. local time.
The AS-350 helicopter was flying over the General Motors Renaissance Center, located directly near the Detroit River, when a laser beam coming from the Windsor, Canada, side flashed into its window. The crew turned its aircraft camera system toward the laser’s origin then reported the incident to the Windsor Ontario Control Tower.
Laser incidents can cause flash blindness and sudden vision problems for pilots. The helicopter’s crew was able to keep flying over the river while tracking the laser’s point of origin as Canadian officials reacted.
“The Windsor Control Tower acted as a continuous relay to the police as the aircrew vectored them to the subject’s position, which was critical to making this apprehension,” Marc Sledge, director of CBP’s Air and Marine Operations Great Lakes Air and Marine Branch, said in a statement. “I am very thankful that our pilots were not injured in this incident and that our Canadian counterparts were there to assist us at a moment’s notice.”
Windsor Police responded to the location where the crew spotted the laser and took one person into custody. It’s not clear if the suspect was charged or if the person was a Canadian or American citizen. Shining a laser at an aircraft in the United States is a federal crime punishable with up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
