WINTER PARK (AP)
— The Seminole
County Sheriff’s Office says its helicopter pilots had to stop pursuing
a burglary suspect because they were blinded by a laser pointer aimed at them from the
ground.

Chief pilot Steve Farris tells WFTV in Orlando that the man said he shined the laser at the helicopter because he wanted to see how far the beam could stretch.

The sheriff’s office says the pilots were temporarily blinded as the laser flashed through the cockpit eight times. The helicopter was 800 feet off the ground.

Authorities say the man faces multiple charges. Pointing a laser at a pilot is a felony.

The FBI and the
Federal Aviation Administration also are investigating. It is a federal offense to shine a laser pointer at an aircraft or into its path.