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Kootenai County commissioners weigh accepting donated helicopter amid liability, training and insurance questions
Summary
Lieutenant Mark Ellis told commissioners the sheriff’s office wants to keep a helicopter donated by a nonprofit, citing lifesaving uses and investigative value. Commissioners pressed for outside counsel review of a donation agreement and the unit’s operations manual to clarify liability, maintenance responsibility and insurance before accepting the aircraft.
Lieutenant Mark Ellis of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office told the board the nonprofit that owns the helicopter is willing to donate it to the county and to pay insurance; he said the aircraft has been used over the last 14 months for rescues and investigations and has encouraged applicants for the sheriff’s air unit.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about who would assume legal responsibility if the county accepts the asset. Chair Metari said accepting the helicopter would place the aircraft on the county’s books and change the county’s liability exposure, and she repeatedly asked whether legal review had occurred. "If the board says yes to it, you know, then obviously the…
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