{"id":952994,"date":"2026-10-31T09:54:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/952994\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T09:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:54:15","slug":"surrey-police-board-gets-new-chief-constable-mccallum-weighs-in-on-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/952994\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrey Police Board gets new chief constable; McCallum weighs in on decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Surrey Police Board has appointed a new chief constable.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the board released a statement that they had appointed\u00a0Todd Matsumoto, who has been the interim chief constable since June, to assume the role starting Oct. 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an exciting day for Surrey Police Service,\u201d said Perm Jawanda, Surrey Police Board Chair. \u201cWe are confident Todd Matsumoto is the right leader to guide SPS forward as we continue building a strong, modern and effective police service for the people of Surrey.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Surrey Police Board said the appointment followed a national search conducted by an executive search firm.<\/p>\n

Matsumoto has over three decades of experience in municipal policing and public safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an honour to continue to serve and lead Surrey Police Service,\u201d said Chief Constable Todd Matsumoto. \u201cOur greatest assets are our people and our relationship with the community we serve. My focus will continue to be transparency, consistent communication and relationship-based leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to the announcement, mayor-elect Doug McCallum released a statement expressing his displeasure with the appointment of a new chief constable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McCallum expressed his issue with the announcement coming on the last business day before the new city council takes over on Monday, effectively preventing the new council from making its own choices.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBrenda Locke\u2019s handpicked board doing exactly what it was built to do: carry out the mayor\u2019s wishes after the voters have shown the mayor the door,\u201d read part of the statement.<\/p>\n

According to McCallum\u2019s statement, there was no public meeting where the chief constable appointment was listed on the agenda. Instead, he said the board decided on Matsumoto\u2019s appointment during a meeting on Oct. 22.<\/p>\n

The next meeting of the Surrey Police Board, under the newly elected council, is not until Nov. 18.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McCallum stated that Cheney Cloke, the board\u2019s former vice-chair and now a councillor-elect, called on the Solicitor General to suspend the hiring until the court rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrenda Locke spent four years trying to sabotage the Surrey Police Service. In her own sworn affidavit she says she \u2018fought tirelessly\u2019 against it. Sworn evidence in court says she told a uniformed officer \u2018we need to get rid of Chief Lipinski.\u2019 When the Province took the board away from her, she got it back with her own resumes and her own councillor chairing the meeting that fired him,\u201d said McCallum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHer board picked Surrey\u2019s police chief behind closed doors so the council that replaced her would have no say. That is not civilian oversight. That is one last kick at Surrey on her way out the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite McCallum\u2019s objections on how the police board went ahead with the hiring, he stated he would work with Matsumoto, as he has the backing of the police union, but he also called for the dismissal of the whole board due to their alliance with outgoing Mayor Brenda Locke.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday I am calling on the Province to remove this entire board, every member of it, and appoint a new, non-partisan board through a public process, immediately,\u201d said McCallum.\u00a0 \u201cThis board was stacked with Brenda Locke\u2019s political cronies. It fired a chief behind its own chair\u2019s back, gagged the chief\u2019s office, left two seats empty for five months, and has now hired a chief behind closed doors three days before the council the voters elected takes office.\u201d<\/p>\n

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