Surrey, B.C., police board ousts Norm Lipinski as chief, board chair resigns

SURREY — The police chief in Surrey, B.C., has left the service in an exit that also triggered the resignation of the police board chair, who said the decision was made at meeting his colleagues knew he couldn’t attend, and that “political tentacles” had reached into the oversight body.

The board said in a statement on Tuesday that Chief Const. Norm Lipinski had been replaced by Deputy Chief Const. Todd Matsumoto, who was appointed to the top post on an interim basis.

The board also said it would begin looking for a permanent chief, with updates in the next few weeks.

Lipinski oversaw Surrey’s transition from the RCMP to its own municipal police force, a process that was contentious as Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke tried unsuccessfully to reverse the move and hand policing back to the Mounties.

No reason was given for the change in leadership at the service.

But now-former chair Harley Chappell cited politics, saying in a letter that the board made the decision to fire Lipinski at a special meeting that he did not attend.

“I do not support this motion and feel it to be in violation of our governance policies and provincial Police Act. But unfortunately, what is done is done,” Chappell said in the letter that he provided to The Canadian Press.

Chappell said he believed he had gone “above and beyond in leading an independent, non-politically influenced board” to govern the Surrey Police Service.

“Unfortunately, I feel the political tentacles and pressures have reached far too deeply into our newly formed SPS board, and I morally and ethically cannot be part of this moving forward,” the letter said.

Chappell, who is the elected Chief of Semiahmoo First Nation, told the Jas Johal Show that the meeting where it was decided to fire Lipinski was called despite his colleagues knowing he could not attend last Friday.

In its statement, the board said it was confident in the continued professionalism of all personnel with the service.

“We want to assure our partners and all community members that we remain focused on protecting public safety and providing uninterrupted service delivery to the community,” the statement said.

Lipinski was named chief in November 2020 and had previously served as deputy police chief in the neighbouring city of Delta and as an assistant commissioner with the RCMP.

Locke said in a statement that she was confident that the police board had a plan in place for the leadership transition while thanking Lipinski for his service.

“As mayor, my focus remains public safety, and I look forward to working with interim Chief Todd Matsumoto during this transition period,” Locke said.

The city has been beset by extortion-related violence this year targeting the South Asian community, while another recent spasm of deadly gang shootings has led to criticism of the force from the mayor about diverting resources from the gang squad.

Surrey Coun. Linda Annis said in an interview that she could not think of a worse time to terminate the chief.

The city was in a state of crisis, she said, with extortion threats, gang homicides and in the middle of a transition.

“Quite frankly, I think it’s a political decision. The mayor hasn’t been happy with the SPS since the get-go.”

Residents of Surrey deserved to know why the chief was terminated, said Annis, who is also a candidate for mayor in this fall’s local election.

“I’m very concerned and upset about the safety of our residents in Surrey,” she said.

B.C. Premier David Eby said at an unrelated news conference on Tuesday that his government’s priority remained the maintenance of stable policing in Surrey during the leadership transition.

Eby said he told Locke a few months ago that the provincial government had been “too involved” in the Surrey policing issue “for too long” and it was time for local government to take responsibility.

He said that Locke agreed with the assessment, and the municipal government had worked with the province on filling out the police board in order to make local decisions, such as who the chief should be.

“It’s important for them to let us know what their plan is here, given the amount of speculation that’s currently taking place,” Eby said in reaction to the departure of Lipinski.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2026.

The Canadian Press