Laser strikes on California Highway Patrol helicopter lead to arrest, cops say

A California Highway Patrol helicopter was repeatedly targeted with a green laser while helping conduct a nighttime search, but video from the helicopter led to an arrest, officials say.

The video shows two people standing beside a Toyota 4-Runner parked on the street outside an apartment building in Vacaville, according to a CHP post on Facebook.

One of the two repeatedly flashes the helicopter with a green laser, the video shows. The helicopter crew directs a Vacaville police officer to the apartments by radio.

“The one behind the 4-Runner’s lasing us,” the pilot says in the video.

The video shows the two people walking into the apartment.

Vacaville police later found the person with the laser and arrested him, CHP officers said. Shining a laser at an aircraft is a felony and a federal crime.

Lasers can cause temporary blindness or permanent eye damage.

This story was originally published March 19, 2023 at 7:52 AM with the headline "Laser strikes on California Highway Patrol helicopter lead to arrest, cops say."