N.L. police chartered $91K flight for accused killer banned from flying commercial

The Royal Newfoundland Constabularychartered a private flight to get accused murderer Sheldon Hibbsback to St. John's from Calgary in March,according to documents obtained by CBC News. The forcesaid he had been banned from flying commercial.

Hibbs, 27, was arrested in Calgary on March 11 on a Canada-wide warrant for second-degree murder in the death of Michael King, 68. King's body was discovered on a trail between Waterford Valley High School and Holbrook Avenue in the west end of St. John's on May 30, 2021.

Documents obtained through anaccess-to-information request showthe RNC was scrambling to bring Hibbs back to Newfoundlandafter two of its officers went to Alberta to do so.

At one point the force even considered paying for a WestJet Boeing 737 at a cost of over $130,000.

"In regards to chartering an aircraft, even if we'd be able to accommodate on such notice, it's extremely expensive, therefore we'd recommend contacting the RCMP as they may have aircraft available which would be better suited for this type of transport," wrote a WestJet representative.

The police replied that the need for transportation was urgent.

"The male has been charged with murder. We understand that it may be expensive to charter, but the time frame for the RCMP plane does not work for us given time constraints for ensuring a prompt court appearance for the male. So we are currently looking at all available options," respondedConst. Jamie Carroll.

Banned from commercial flights

The RNCrequested multiplequotes for private flights and sent them to the provincial government for approval, emails show.

The provincial government and RNCeventually chose Gander-based EVASAir to do the charter at a cost of $91,885.

In an emailed statement, an RNC spokesperson said the police were forced to look at other options after an incident that took place during their first attempt at getting Hibbs back to St. John's.

"As a result of an event during the first attempt by RNC officers to transport Hibbsto RNC jurisdiction, Hibbswas banned from commercially operated flights," wrote RNC Const. James Cadigan.

Cadigan said he could not elaborate on what happened during the first attempt at transferring Hibbs as the case is before the courts.

In a statement, Air Canada said it has "zero tolerance policies for any sort of disruption, including disruptive behaviour" for which the airline says it has "well-prescribed procedures" to work with local authorities.

RCMP Alberta spokesperson Fraser Logan confirmed the RNC did request their help after Hibbs was taken off the flightbecause he was "unruly."

Logan said it's a request the RCMPwould normally entertain. However, he said there would have been multiple stops along the wayinvolving different provinces and divisions.

It would have taken "a lot oftime and effort," Logan said, and it wasn't clear if the RCMPwould be able toreturn Hibbs to the province in time.

Internal emailsbetween the RNC and the provincial governmentspell out what the RNC's main concerns were.

In responding to questions from an official with the provincial government, Insp. Tom Warren said time was of the essence, and that Hibbs needed to be transferred immediately to protect hischarter rights.

"The argument could be made that we are unlawfully detaining an individual," Warren wrote. He saidthe RNChad consulted two Crown prosecutors.

Warren said a provincial court judge in Newfoundland and Labrador would not have the ability to putan accused person in custody in a facility in Alberta.

"We have explored with legal counsel the option of having an extension made to the six-day remand and also having the individual appear via video/phone from Alberta. We have been advised that under these circumstances this is not an option," Warren said.

Cadigan said the Calgary Police Service arrested Hibbs, but the RNC had to execute the warrant. He said the law requires that an accused be remanded no longer than six days before returning to the jurisdiction in which the offence is alleged to have occurred.

Prisoner transfers often done on commercial flights

According to Michael Arntfield, a Western University criminology professor and former police officer, it's unusual for a police force to charter a private aircraft.

He noted prisoners regularly travel on commercial flights with police officers.

Most members of the public would never know because the process is often "executed fairly well,"Arntfieldsaid.

"I can't speak to the budget of the RNC or how it disburses its funds normally, but I can tell youan expenditure like this with a municipal police service would be sharply scrutinized," hesaid.

"Again, they may have house money to play with. The question then is, was this the optimal use of that excess money? And quite frankly, I'm not sure, or I'd be skeptical that any law enforcement agency has excess money these days."

Cadigan said Hibbs wasreturned to the province within the time frame set out in the Criminal Code of Canada.

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