A man who aimed a high-powered laser at an RCMP helicopter has pleaded guilty to mischief and other charges.

Alex Schiller, 31, apologized in court and directly to CTV News for shining a green laser pointer at Air 2, disrupting its chase of a assault suspects, and becoming a police target himself in April 2011.

“I would like to remind people to use extreme caution when utilizing high powered laser pointers. They are not toys. I regret the trouble I caused from signaling that aircraft and now realize the danger it could have posed,” Schiller said.

Video taken from Air 2, shows the helicopter crew scouring East Vancouver for a group of assault suspects when suddenly there is a flash.

“What the hell was that? Laser, green laser, right side,” voices say on the recording, which was provided to CTV News by the RCMP.

Lasers are a dangerous distraction in any aircraft, because they can cause blindness when pilots are flying at night, or they can distract the pilot and cause a crash.

“If the pilot is temporarily blinded flying over the city, things can get really bad really fast. It’s an incredibly unsafe thing to do,” said Const. Curtis Brassington, the tactical flight officer who was aboard Air 2 that night.

“It did mean we had to abandon the call. We couldn’t do that while we were getting lasered. We had to go deal with the threat,” he said.

That meant tracking Schiller to his car on St. Catherines St. and East 17th Avenue in Vancouver. Schiller started driving and Air 2 followed him, calling in reinforcements from Vancouver Police ground cars.

“We zoomed in, he got into a vehicle, and we followed the vehicle as it was pulling away. We called Vancouver ground units and they arrested him,” Brassington said.

The 31-year-old was charged with mischief, endangering an aircraft, and creating an airspace hazard. Schiller pleaded guilty to all charges in Vancouver provincial court.

Prosecutors are asking for two months house arrest and a five month conditional sentence.

“We’re very concerned that a message be sent,” said prosecutor Jason Krupa. “People may think this is a prank, but it puts real people in danger.”

Every year about three dozen aircraft in Canada are hit with laser pointers. In the first prosecution in Calgary, a man was fined $5000.