The Surrey Police Board has announced that another member has stepped down.

The board says James Carwana announced his resignation via the provincial government following the firing of former chief Norm Lipinski.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!

Earlier this week, board chair Harley Chappell stepped down in response to the board’s decision.

Chappell told 1130 NewsRadio that he was not at the meeting where the board made the decision to fire Lipinski and he believes the chief’s termination is political in nature.

On Wednesday, CityNews obtained a copy of a letter Lipinski sent to Surrey Police Service officers where he stated that he was fired and this was not the way he intended on leaving his position.

That letter went onto say he was proud of everything he accomplished in his time at the helm given the difficult circumstances.

Former BC Solicitor General, former police chief and current Richmond city councillor Kash Heed says he’s not surprised by this latest development.

“They are directly responsible for ensuring we have a police service that’s credible police in the streets of Surrey. That’s not happening,” said Heed.

“It’s void of any leadership coming from the actual level of government that’s directly responsible for policing in British Columbia.”

Heed believes the province should take a leadership role and let the public know why Lipinski was let go.

“I think this is going to get more chaotic than we’ve seen it so far.”

“What we have is so many political bodies that are interfering in what is going on to deliberate public service that it’s very confusing to a lot of people.”

Heed points to the interference that already plagued the Surrey Police Service, from the beginning of its formation.

“You’ve had the former mayor that came in wanted to do this transition to an independent municipal force. You had the current mayor come in and wanted to block that transition, keep the status quo with the RCMP.”

The Surrey police force is not sharing why Lipinski was fired and that is leading to public concern.

“You’re not seeing that transparency, you’re seeing things held behind a curtain, you’re not seeing the public being made aware of the difficulties occurring within that police jurisdiction or held in the dark for that.”

The mistake is not just that of the municipal government, says Heed, but also the police board and the province that has jurisdiction.

“The unfortunate part of it is this is going to affect the overall morale within the police service.”

“When you have so much political chaos at the upper level, it’s going to be difficult for them to deliver the service that’s respected and expected by the people of Surrey.”

Lipinski was brought on almost five years ago to lead the city in its effort to transition away from the RCMP.

CityNews Vancouver

Message History

Delivery option(s)