the county sheriff does not have authority to enforce faa regulations. if the airspace is shut down then the faa will regulate that. the only thing the sheriff could maybe do is arrest him for reckless endangerment but that would likely lose in a court case. the correct response from the pilot should have been. to say ok and go fucking do it anyway.  ive done this multiple times in disaster response situations and its always been a bluff. we had a tornado come through, i went to the area to help, parked my car outside the zone and when i went to walk across the blocked off streets a cop told me i couldnt go in bc it was unsafe. i told the cop my friend is in there and im going to help. he told me if i did i would be arrested. i said ok and walked across the street and into the damage zone. cop yelled at me a bit when i ran across the street but that was the last i heard from him. they shut out mr bridges down for a big storm and they stay down until damage assessment has been complete. after hurricane matthew some people waited a week to get back over the bridge and check on their property. i pulled up to the bridge and politely told the cop guarding it that i didnt care i was going in. he said i would be arrested. i said ok and drive around him. never got arrested.  tldr always call their bluff.
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