A Lake Lure, NC assistant chief threatened to arrest a volunteer helicopter pilot for the terrible crime of – rescuing people. The chief had no authority to ban helicopter flights and seemed mostly interested in preserving their presumed “authority” than in actually rescuing people.

This interview is with Olivia Stewman, over the city’s Chris Melton threatening to arrest a volunteer helicopter pilot (he’s ex-military, a former law enforcement officer, a volunteer firefighter, and a commercial helicopter pilot). The reporter on this (about halfway through the video) is fantastic – well done!

There were no flight restrictions in effect; only the FAA can restrict flights.

The city, after threatening to arrest the volunteers who flew out one victim, to safety, then chose to use a rope to haul another victim across a raging river – because that was surely safer than a helicopter!

After saying the city had to ban volunteers because they were not properly trained and authorized, less than 24 hours later, they then asked the volunteers to come back (with no additional training!) Watch the video.