A 47-year-old Nashville man is facing felony charges after he allegedly pointed a green laser at a Metro Nashville police helicopter early Saturday morning, then tried to hide the device in a drawer before officers caught up with him. Bradley Powell was arrested on two counts of aggravated assault against a police officer flight crew, along with a charge of evidence tampering.
Bradley Powell, 47, was arrested on 2 counts of aggravated assault against the police officer flight crew & evidence tampering for hiding the laser in a drawer. pic.twitter.com/vX0iSmfsCE
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) August 17, 2026
Helicopter Crew Traces Beam Back to Condo Complex
According to Metro Nashville Police, the laser beam came from the Castlewood Condominiums on Harold Drive while the department's helicopter was assisting officers on the ground with a call regarding a fleeing vehicle. As reported by WSMV, ground units located Powell and recovered the laser after he allegedly tried to hide it, leading to the additional tampering charge. Metro Nashville Police said shining a laser at an aircraft can blind a flight crew and is a crime, a warning that speaks directly to the mechanics of how these arrests typically unfold.
Police helicopter crews in Nashville rely on infrared and night-vision equipment that can track a laser beam directly back to its source on the ground in real time, allowing patrol units to close in on suspects quickly. That capability is what has repeatedly turned these incidents from fleeting flashes of light into same-night arrests across Davidson County.
A Pattern of Felony Charges for Targeting Police Aircraft
Powell's arrest fits a pattern local prosecutors have followed for years when police aircrews are targeted. In August 2024, Metro Nashville Police arrested 43-year-old Amanda McDonald on two counts of aggravated assault after she allegedly aimed a laser into the cockpit of an MNPD helicopter flying over Cheyenne Boulevard, a case Hoodline covered at the time. Four months later, an 18-year-old Goodlettsville man, Destin Wyndham, was arrested after allegedly pointing a green laser at an MNPD helicopter assisting a commercial airliner that had reported being lasered near Nashville International Airport, according to Nashville.gov.
The city's history with laser strikes on its aviation unit goes back further still. Newsweek reported that in May 2021, 43-year-old Shannon Cole was arrested after allegedly using a high-powered green laser to repeatedly illuminate MNPD's Air One helicopter while pilots monitored street racing over Interstate 24.
New State Law Adds to a Web of Possible Charges
Tennessee lawmakers have moved to address the problem beyond case-by-case felony charges against police aircrews. Effective July 1, 2025, a state law created a specific Class B misdemeanor for knowingly pointing a laser beam at anyone operating an aircraft, automobile, boat, or other motor vehicle, carrying penalties of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine, according to BillTrack50. Separately, Tennessee Code § 39-16-515 classifies pointing a laser at a uniformed law enforcement officer or emergency responder as a criminal offense against government operations, per Justia Law.
Federal exposure looms even larger. Under 18 U.S.C. § 39A, aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is a federal felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the Federal Aviation Administration can independently assess civil penalties of up to $32,646 per violation, per the Federal Aviation Administration. It remains an open question whether federal prosecutors will pursue charges against Powell in addition to the state case, and what specific type or power level of laser device was recovered at the scene has not been detailed.
Tennessee Ranks Among the Nation's Worst for Laser Strikes
The Nashville arrest lands squarely within a broader problem the FAA has flagged as a persistent aviation safety hazard. Pilots reported 649 laser strikes in Tennessee in 2024 alone, ranking the state fourth nationwide behind only California, Texas, and Florida, the FAA found. Nationally, the agency recorded 10,993 laser strike reports in 2025 and 12,840 in 2024, a slight decline from a record high of 13,304 incidents in 2023.
The danger isn't theoretical. The FAA says pilots have reported 328 documented eye injuries since it began tracking laser illumination data in 2010, with high-powered handheld lasers causing temporary flash blindness, glare, severe retinal damage, and potential cockpit disorientation during critical flight maneuvers. It's the same hazard Metro Nashville Police cited in a warning that a beam aimed at an aircraft can blind the people flying it, regardless of the aircraft's mission on any given night.
