COEUR d’ALENE — Insurance costs may permanently ground the helicopter used by the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, which has not been used for law enforcement purposes in more than a year.

“Right now, it looks like if it’s out of our price range, then the program goes away,” Kootenai County Commissioner Leslie Duncan said during a Tuesday meeting. 

County commissioners voted unanimously in March 2023 to approve an agreement between the sheriff’s office and the newly formed nonprofit Kootenai County Regional Air Support Unit for the use of ABLE1, a 1994 BELL 206 helicopter purchased using donated funds. The two-year, donation-funded pilot program for the helicopter unit was the first of its kind in Idaho. 

Between August 2023 and September 2024, the helicopter unit assisted various agencies during 140 incidents or calls, according to a public log of incident reports, including 14 search and rescue operations. 

The helicopter hasn’t flown for law enforcement activities or search and rescue purposes since Sept. 12, 2024, according to incident reports. 

Sheriff’s office personnel previously confirmed that ABLE1 has been used only for nonprofit training and maintenance since that date due to “discrepancies in the insurance policy.” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said in July that the county was found to be “deficient” in “an area of the workman’s comp insurance.” 

Though Kootenai County does not own ABLE1, the county’s sole use of the helicopter means it borders on a “charter service,” Duncan said. For that reason, she said, legal counsel has recommended the county maintain additional insurance. 

Lt. Mark Ellis, the unit commander for the helicopter crew, said insurance coverage cost $22,000 in the first year the helicopter unit was active. A new insurance estimate for the county is between $46,000 and $53,000 a year. 

“It seems extremely high,” Ellis told commissioners Tuesday. 

Ellis said the nonprofit covers its own insurance costs and is unwilling to cover additional costs for the county’s insurance coverage.

“The nonprofit has said, if there was catastrophic damage to the helicopter, it would be scrapped,” Ellis said. “They wouldn’t try to replace it.”

Before the helicopter unit existed, Kootenai County contracted with Spokane County for the use of a helicopter at a rate of $10,000 per year. While ABLE1 was in use, the county contributed that $10,000 to the nonprofit. Ellis said the nonprofit is willing to forego that money so the county can put the funds toward insurance costs. 

“If the insurance comes back at more than $10,000, then I guess we’re not going to have a program,” Duncan said. “Is that what I’m hearing?” 

“That’s what I’d have to agree with,” Ellis replied. 

If the program ends for good, it’s unclear what would become of the helicopter or if the nonprofit could use it for other purposes. 

The Kootenai County Regional Air Support Unit did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.