The Winnipeg Police Service said its AIR1 helicopter was used for a film shoot.
In a statement released late Friday, police said the flight time for the shoot clocked in at 72 minutes, and that the helicopter stayed close to city limits. It did not specify the date of the shoot.
The statement said the request to use Air1 came from the city’s manager of film and special events, “to help meet critical resource and production timeline.”
Police said while details of the production contract can’t be released due to confidentiality, the cost to police was “assessed at a cost recovery basis only.”
Police also highlighted how the film industry benefits to the local economy, and said use of the helicopter was provided “in the spirit of community and civic engagement.”
In a statement to CTV News Mayor Brian Bowman's office said in part, "The police helicopter is a very specialized piece of equipment, the use of which should be limited to supporting police and public safety operations. Mayor Bowman said communicated his concerns regarding the use of the police helicopter with the Chief of Police in order to better understand the rationale and policy surrounding the allocation and deployment of the police helicopter in circumstances such as this."
A city spokesperson said in a statement to CTV News, "All costs were covered by the production company (cost recovery), and usage of the helicopter was conditional, subject to WPS dispatch, which took priority."
