Chief Const. Norm Lipinski leaves Surrey Police Service

The Surrey Police Board says Chief Const. Norm Lipinski has left the service.

Deputy Chief Const. Todd Matsumoto has been appointed interim chief constable, according to a release.

The board did not provide any further details about why Lipinski left, but rumours had started circulating on Monday.

Lipinski has been chief since 2020, overseeing the transition from the RCMP to the SPS, which continues.

There have been many challenges during his time, including the recruitment of enough officers, and an increase in extortion-related shootings in the city.

In addition, an investigation was launched into his texts and emails with mayoral hopeful Linda Annis, which Global News obtained through a freedom of information request. Their communication concerned moving impaired driving checks away from the golf course where Annis lives.

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In a statement, Mayor Brenda Locke thanked Lipinski for his service to the city over the last five years.

“I am confident that the Surrey Police Board has a plan in place that will continue to prioritize keeping our neighbourhoods safe, while supporting the SPS to become a Canadian leader in trusted, modern, and responsive policing,” she said.

2:00 FOI shows Surrey check stop location concerns from city councillor

B.C. Premier David Eby said at an event on Tuesday that the priority for the provincial government is stable policing in Surrey.

“If people call 911, they get that response,” he said.

“The extortion policing efforts continue. Organized crime issues are addressed; those are our priorities at the provincial level.”

Eby added that he had a conversation with Mayor Brenda Locke a few months ago and said it is time for the local community to take responsibility for its own police force.

10:19 Extended interview with SPS Chief Constable Norm Lipinski

“She agreed that we work together on appointments that both the province and the city could support moving forward for our vacancies on the police board,” Eby said.

“Those local decisions about who the police chief is, policy priorities, or the kinds of decisions that local police boards are intended to make and should make.”

Annis told Global News on Tuesday morning that this is the “absolutely wrong time” for a change of police chief.

“We’re in a state of chaos here with public safety,” she said.

“It seems every morning you wake up you hear about another shooting. The police are under-resourced. The police chief needs to be given the tools that he needs to get the job done, not taking his job away.”

More to come.