Surrey police board's vote to 'muzzle' chief draws backlash

Kash Heed, a former B.C. solicitor general. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

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The Surrey police board has overstepped its bounds by adopting rules restricting what the chief can say publicly, extending the “chaos” of the transition from the RCMP to a municipal force, says a former B.C. former solicitor general.

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“In all of my studies, in all my years in policing, I’ve never seen this,” Kash Heed said Thursday.

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“Even if you look at the role of the board, you look at the fact that they have to deal with governance, they are, in my opinion, they’re beyond their powers when they muzzle the chief in this way.”

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The Surrey police board approved new rules at its Wednesday meeting that ban the department’s police chief and other officials from commenting publicly on  decisions by city hall or the B.C. government.

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“The chief constable should be free to speak on issues that are paramount to Surrey. They’re not allowing that,” Heed said. “It’s going to be very difficult now to bring in a qualified chief constable that’s going to lead them — the chaos that they’re in right now — when you put a muzzle on them right at the outset.”

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The board’s directive came because of comments from  Norm Lipinski, who the board terminated as chief nearly three weeks ago, without cause.

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Lipinski had publicly commented on numerous policing concerns. Lipinski, for instance, asked the province for a delay in the Surrey Police Service fully taking over policing in Cloverdale. The province declined and forced SPS to take over Cloverdale sooner than Lipinski wanted. He said forced him to disband Surrey’s anti-gang unit to provide the necessary officer for Cloverdale.

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Todd Matsumoto is serving as interim chief until a new chief is recruited.

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Heed, a former West Vancouver police chief and public safety minister, said there is too much political interference with the current Surrey police board, from both the city and the province.

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Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke with former Surrey Police Service chief Norm Lipinski in 2024. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

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Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke campaigned on her promise to end the policing transition away from the RCMP. While she won the election, Locke lost the fight against the province on the transition, and SPS was forced on the city.

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The whole move is about control, Heed said. When five police board directors were replaced in one swoop by the province in March, that was also unheard of, he added.

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After Lipinski was terminated, board chair Harley Chappell resigned in protest of the decision that he was not a part of. Days later, another board director, James Carwana, also resigned.

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The Surrey police board didn’t offer much clarity Thursday as to how the new communications directive will work in practice, saying in a statement that while the chief is free to speak on matters of crime, community safety, and police operations, “The Surrey police board has its own direct responsibilities for the governance and oversight of SPS. The policy is clear that in situations where those areas of responsibility overlap, the expectation is for management and the board to engage one another.”