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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Charges laid after bright light interferes with police chopper

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 10/9/2011 10:20 AM

A Winnipeg man is under arrest today, charged with shining a glaring light at the Winnipeg Police Service helicopter.

At about 10:40 on Saturday, police said in a release, the helicopter was flying over Winnipeg's south end when the cockpit was filled with an "intense white light" that was directed from the ground.

The pilot steered the helicopter clear of the light but was struck by the same glare on multiple occasions, police said. Officers on the ground tracked the light to the area of Beckinsale Bay and Nova Vista Drive, where they arrested a 52-year-old suspect and seized a light source.

He has been charged with mischief endangering life and projecting a directed bright light source at an aircraft. He has been released on a promise to appear.

This is not the first time police say their chopper has been targeted in this way. In March, police arrested a 26-year-old man in the West End after a laser pointer was allegedly beamed into the cockpit and struck the pilot in the eye.

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