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2nd Michigan Man Faces Federal Charge After Aiming Laser At Police Helicopter

SAGINAW (WWJ/AP) - The same week Michigan State Police caught a man shining a laser at one of its helicopters in Detroit, a second man was caught doing the same thing in Saginaw.

State police Lt. David Kaiser says the helicopter was flying on patrol over Saginaw on March 18 when the crew headed to an area where a traffic stop was taking place. He told The Saginaw News the crew reported seeing a flash on the ground before the beam shined in the helicopter's cockpit.

The crew located where it was coming from and provided information to police on the ground. The man told police he didn't know he was aiming it at a police helicopter. He's expected to face a federal charge.

Two days prior to this incident, on March 16, Detroit police found a man shining the laser that had hit an MSP tactical flight officer, on patrol over Detroit, in the eyes, sending him to the hospital.

MSP First Lt. Mike Shaw said he's concerned that they've seen a definite increase in these "laser strikes" on aircraft. Not just on law enforcement planes, but also on commercial flights over Detroit Metro Airport.

"Some people just are dumb," Shaw told WWJ's Zahra Huber. "They don't realize the consequences of not only possibly causing a $5 million State Police aircraft to crash, the loss of life that's involved. They think it's kind of funny at the time until they're actually doing time in a federal prison for that."

"So, we'll chase you down if we find out who you are," he added. "We'll lock you up and put you in jail."

The suspect's name in the Saginaw case was not immediately released.

TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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