A deadly shooting in Surrey’s Clayton Heights neighbourhood Saturday has prompted the city’s mayor to criticize the provincial government’s “lack of progress” on transitioning to a municipal police force.
Mayor Doug McCallum issued a statement Monday that cited the deadly gas station shooting as an example of how “Surrey continues to face serious law-and-order incidents where the criminals are becoming bolder in where and when the carry out their violent crimes.”
But McCallum, who wants to replace the municipal RCMP department, also criticized the province’s Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, who, in August, took effective control of the city’s transition plan by creating a “joint transition team” of city and provincial officials, but one that will be chaired by former Attorney General Wally Oppal, whom Farnworth appointed.
“With the province giving us the green light to establish our own Surrey Police Department, the community believes now, more than ever, that we need to work as quickly possible to get SPD officers out on the streets. The lack of progress to date is disappointing and is unfortunately due to bureaucratic red tape,” said McCallum. “We owe it to the people of Surrey to make this transition as quickly and smoothly as possible,” he added, via the statement.
McCallum said his plan would have a municipal police force established by April 2021.
Surrey RCMP has been on its own public relations offensive of late, issuing a news release on Sep. 10 that stated the violent crime rate in Surrey “has been trending down over the past 10 years, and in 2018 it was the lowest it has been in the last decade.”
Police showed up to an annual Newton Business Improvement Association meeting Friday to convey the same message.
On Monday, the RCMP Integrated Homicide Team issued a request for public assistance to further its investigation into the shooting death of the 29-year-old Surrey resident at about 6 p.m. in the 18600-block of Fraser Highway. “The victim was known to police and the shooting is believed to be a targeted incident,” police stated.
Police said they know of a black male who fled the scene and got into a silver sedan driven by a second black male.
Police claim at around 10 p.m., the Burnaby RCMP received a report of a burnt silver sedan, in the area of Willingdon Avenue and Kemp Street, believed to be associated to the shooting. Investigators are seeking witnesses that may have made observations and/or have dash cam video from the following two areas:
·18600-block of Fraser Highway in Surrey between 5:30 p.m and 6:30 p.m.
·Willingdon Avenue and Kemp Street between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Anyone with information is asked to call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551- IHIT (4448), or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
