COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho —

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office helicopter has not been used for law enforcement purposes for almost a year, officials confirmed Thursday, though the county and sheriff’s office are working to resolve liability issues that have kept it grounded.

Kootenai County commissioners met with sheriff’s office personnel to discuss a new lease agreement for the use of ABLE1, a 1994 BELL 206 helicopter purchased using donated funds.

County commissioners voted unanimously in March 2023 to approve an agreement between the sheriff’s office and the Kootenai County Regional Air Support Unit, a nonprofit formed in 2022 for that purpose. The two-year, donation-funded pilot program for the helicopter unit was the first of its kind in Idaho.

ABLE1 was last used for law enforceme

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