Murray announced Monday night if elected this fall, he will land Air1, the Winnipeg Police Service’s EC120B Colibri helicopter. The city bought the helicopter in 2010 for $3.5 million and now spends about $2.2 million a year to keep it in the air. Murray said it is too expensive to operate and is now obsolete given the improvements in remotely piloted aerial drones. “I think the technology has moved beyond that. I think that’s too expensive. I think it’s past its prime as a concept,” Murray said in an interview Monday afternoon. “I think there are much better ways to spend public dollars than on a helicopter.” At $2.2 million, the helicopter’s annual operating costs represent less than one percent of the police department’s $320 million budget. According to the police flight operations report for 2020, the most recent to be released, the helicopter attended 2,446 events, helped locate 738 suspects or missing persons and was involved in 101 vehicle pursuits that year. Police also credited the helicopter with saving 13 lives in 2020. The flight unit prevented seven suicides and saved six people from a house fire, the report said. Moe Sabourin, president of the Winnipeg Police Association – the union that represents police officers – said he doesn’t think Murray understands the benefits Air1 offers in terms of reduced pursuits and saved lives. “I think he’s hearing from a very small minority who want to trash it,” Sabourin said via text. However, Murray said the money devoted to the helicopter could be better spent elsewhere. “You’ve got to find some economy somewhere, and we’ve got to move our dollars to healthier, safer neighborhoods,” he said. “For the cost of a few weeks of operating a helicopter, you could have a lot more drones on a lot of vehicles.” Murray said he has not formed an opinion on the police’s armored rescue vehicle, a Terradyne Gurkha MPV he bought for $383,000 in 2015. In either case, the mayor of Winnipeg does not have the authority to direct police operations. Loose oversight of the police service rests with the Winnipeg Police Board. Murray acknowledged this, saying he would advise the police board to eliminate the police helicopter. Murray, who previously served as mayor from 1998 to 2004, is one of 11 candidates who have registered to run for mayor this fall. The other candidates are Idris Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, Chris Clacio, Scott Gillingham, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Shaun Loney, Jenny Motkaluk, Rick Shone, Desmond Thomas and Don Woodstock. Municipal elections are held on October 26.
