Police have arrested a man accused of shining a laser at a police helicopter and at CBS2's own Chopper 2, an incident that left the NYPD pilot temporarily blinded while the aircraft hovered over protests in Manhattan. The beam traced back to Brooklyn, and officers ultimately caught up with the suspect on a rooftop in Red Hook.
NYPD aviation officers were covering the demonstrations over Manhattan when they and Chopper 2 were struck by a laser fired from Brooklyn, according to CBS News. Police said the pilot in the NYPD helicopter was temporarily blinded, while Chopper 2's pilot was not injured. Suspect James Dowling was captured on the roof of a building in Red Hook, police said.
A Separate Bronx Case Making Headlines the Same Day
Separately, CBS News New York is also reporting on a Bronx man facing criminal charges for allegedly pointing a laser at Chopper 2, according to the station. That report does not share further detail on the date, location specifics, or current status of that case, and it should not be confused with the Brooklyn-to-Red Hook incident described above — the two are distinct episodes involving the same news helicopter.
Laser strikes against aircraft remain a persistent, and sometimes dangerous, problem in the New York skies. The report notes that the Empire State recorded 369 laser strikes on aircraft in 2025, a 30% drop from the prior year, placing New York ninth nationally among states for such incidents. FAA data also showed 13 laser strikes reported across New York in January 2026 alone, the outlet notes.
Nationwide Numbers Are Trending Down, But Still High
The problem isn't limited to New York. The FAA received 10,994 laser strike reports nationwide in 2025, a 14% decrease from 2024, per the same account. Even with the decline, the figures underscore how often pilots — whether flying commercial jets, news helicopters, or police aircraft — are forced to contend with beams aimed up from the ground.
New York law treats directing a laser at an aircraft as a class A misdemeanor, according to the New York State Senate's legislation page. Past cases show how serious the consequences of a laser strike can get for the people in the cockpit. In 2015, a Bronx man named Frank Egan was arrested on felony assault charges after police said he pointed a laser at an Air Canada pilot attempting to land at LaGuardia Airport, as well as at two NYPD aviation officers, according to Newsday. That outlet reported the Air Canada pilot was treated for an eye injury at a Toronto hospital, while the two officers were taken to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Federal Cases Show the Issue Extends Beyond New York
The threat to police aircraft isn't unique to the five boroughs, either. Earlier this year, the FBI's Las Vegas field office announced that two men in separate cases were indicted and made initial court appearances for allegedly aiming a laser pointer at and striking police helicopters. The pattern across these cases points to the same risk: a pilot, however briefly, losing the ability to see clearly while controlling an aircraft full of people or flying over a crowded city.
