Police defend decision to lend out Air-1 for movie shoot

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This article was published 08/01/2018 (3183 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite concerns raised by Mayor Brian Bowman, the Winnipeg Police Service doubled down on its decision to green-light the use of the Air-1 helicopter for a movie shoot 20 kilometres south of the city.

On Friday, the WPS confirmed the $3.5-million helicopter was used in the filming of The Parts You Lose, starring Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad, in La Salle, roughly 20 kilometres outside city limits.

The helicopter was in use for 72 minutes including travel time, was filmed flying two patterns over the set and was never more than seconds away from city limits, according to police.

“I’m actually surprised that I’m standing here. I’m surprised there are a lot of questions. A public asset was used and we went out of our way to do it in a way we felt was appropriate,” said. Const. Rob Carver Monday afternoon.

“We did this because we were specifically asked in this situation and we were able to accommodate it. In a situation like this where it was seamless, where there was cost-recovery, where there was no risk to the public… it’s simply beyond me why this is an issue.”

Had the Air-1 crew been required to respond to a call during the shoot, it was “seconds away” from city limits, Carver said. In fact, he argued the response time may have been faster since the helicopter was already in the air and operational.

The decision to allow use of the helicopter was made by Insp. Jon Lutz, who also briefly addressed the media Monday afternoon, and other senior members of the police service.

While this is the first time Air-1 has been used in this capacity, it is not the first time the WPS has co-operated with the film industry.

The former police headquarters, the Public Safety Building, was used during off-hours for filming for the 2003 CBS television movie The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron.

Carver also highlighted other uses of city assets for movie shoots, including the recent five-day closure of the Arlington Bridge in September to help facilitate a film production.

“Winnipeg has staked out a name for itself as a centre for being able to do some really great films… To do that we want to have a great relationship with the film industry. The City of Winnipeg, as well as the Winnipeg Police Service, has for years facilitated the film industry in Winnipeg and Manitoba,” he said.

“If we were renting out assets to make a profit, I could see a different set of questions being levelled this afternoon. That was avoided, and I think it was avoided very judiciously. It was set up for cost-recovery. We aren’t in the business of renting out assets to make money.”

In response to news the helicopter had been used for the shoot, a spokesman for Bowman indicated the mayor had concerns over the decision, which were passed along to Chief of Police Danny Smyth.

“The police helicopter is a very specialized piece of equipment, the use of which should be limited to supporting police and public safety operations,” the spokesman said on the mayor’s behalf.

The request to use the Air-1 helicopter for the film came from Kenny Boyce, the city’s manager of film and special events. As contracts are confidential, it remains unclear how much the city received for use of the helicopter.

In 2016, the annual operating cost of the helicopter was $1.9 million. That year Air-1 logged 732 hours of flight time and responded to 1,571 calls, according to statistics previously released by police.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe