Winnipeg Police Unveil Coveted Helicopter

December 6, 2010 01:50 PM in News • 7 Comments

Winnipeg police officially unveiled their much talked about helicopter to media Monday at Canadian Forces Base 17 Wing.

Watch:

The $3.5 million chopper is an EC-120 Colibri, and comes from Eurocopter Canada.

On Thursday, the police service said the aircraft was on its way from the manufacturing plant in Fort Erie, Ontario.

“This is an exciting day for the service. Modern-day policing in a city like Winnipeg requires deployment of equipment and technology that will improve the safety of the community and police personnel,” said Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill.

The helicopter has been touted as a resource to reduce crime in the city, particularly in apprehending car thieves and avoiding dangerous high-speed chases between police and suspects on the ground.

The EC-120 is also used by the York Regional Police Force in Ontario, the Calgary and Edmonton police services, as well asthe RCMP in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

Mayor Sam Katz and Premier Greg Selinger were the first passengers to take a ride in the new aircraft. The two sat in the backseat during a demonstration flight.

Integration of the helicopter into the day-to-day police operations will occur immediately.

The Province of Manitoba will cover the helicopter’s $1.3 million annual operating expenses.

ChrisD.ca video/WpgCameraMan

jp

Does this mean that impossibilities will now come to pass?
Harvey

The problem is it will probably be like Toronto that it will only be able to fly a few
days a month because of weather conditions — a waste of money when the city is
on the verge of bankruptcy..
Dave

Because of the 8 months of winter right? haha
Riverman

@ Harvey, did you know the prairies has the best flying conditions in the country? The CF does all of its flight training in Portage, Moose Jaw, Cold Lake and Winnipeg because of this. A police aircraft will be far more effective here than in Toronto as we have a lot more good flying days.
silviastraka

As a former Torontonian, I’m wondering if any consideration was given to the high levels of noise and disruption from helicopters hovering over the city. Although I’d be willing to put up with it if there were convincing evidence that it saves lives and significantly reduces violent crime, I found myself incredibly stressed some days because of the horrendous noise of various kinds of choppers in the downtown Toronto airspace. You just can’t ever get away from it, it’s that loud. This Toronto group http://www.stopthechoppers.ca/ expresses my own experiences. I’m not sure the city of Winnipeg has adequately shown the benefit of this helicopter to the citizens.
WY

I see I wasn’t the only one thinking Airwolf during the flight sequence! ::thumbs up::
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