The Surrey police board has confirmed that Surrey Police Service Chief Const. Norm Lipinski has left the SPS, with councillors and Surrey mayoral candidates Mike Starchuk and Linda Annis issuing releases Tuesday morning blasting Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke for the reported ouster.
The Vancouver Sun reported Lipinski has until Thursday (June 4) to resign or be terminated without cause after a Monday (June 1) meeting.
In a release Tuesday morning (June 2), the Surrey Police Board announced that Lipinski “has left Surrey Police Service,” and that Deputy Chief Const. Todd Matsumoto has been appointed interim chief constable.
“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. We are confident in the leadership team of SPS, and in the continued professionalism of all SPS personnel,” the release said, adding the board will initiate a recruitment process for a new permanent chief constable.
Annis said the reports that Lipinski has been ousted as the head of the SPS “raises troubling questions” about Locke’s four-year campaign to “stop, stall and derail the police transition, which is now in year eight because of her bad decisions.”
Locke’s opposition to the SPS is well-known, Annis continued, and added Lipinski’s termination by the mayor’s “recent hand-picked police board is another tragic example of how her political interference and personal vendetta against our local police department is making our city unsafe,” in the release.
The dismissal of Lipinski — who has served as SPS chief since 2020 and had his contract renewed for three years in October 2025 (with option of renewal for two additional years) — means the transition’s timing will be further impacted, and the leadership disruption at the SPS is not good for morale or public safety, Annis continued.
“The mayor has treated the SPS like a political football, and that has to be hard on the men and women of our police department,” Annis said. “Chief Lipinski and the men and women of the SPS have done an incredible job in the face of the mayor’s constant opposition, interference and budget cuts. Instead of being a champion for our local police service, the mayor has been its biggest opponent, and the termination of Chief Lipinski is one more example of how she puts politics ahead of public safety.”
Starchuk also attacked Locke in a release, saying the mayor has “once again destabilized the Surrey Police Service transition — this time by enabling her newly constituted Surrey Police Board to fire Chief Norm Lipinski — after meetings held predominantly behind closed doors, with five new Locke-preferred board members leading the charge.”
“Mayor Locke has been swinging a wrecking ball over Surrey’s police transition since day one. Now her hand-picked board — with less than 10 weeks of formal experience — has fired the chief of police behind closed doors. Surrey families deserve to know who is really driving decisions at the Surrey police board,” Starchuk said in his release.
Monday night, SPS senior media relations officer Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghten said SPS knew “nothing” about the ouster, and deferred all questions to the SPS board.
Locke issued a statement Tuesday morning thanking Lipinski for his service to the city and the SPS.
“As mayor, my focus remains public safety, and I look forward to working with interim chief Todd Matsumoto during this transition period,” Locke said in the statement. “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.”
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Matsumoto also thanked Lipinski “for his leadership and guidance of SPS over the past five-and-a-half years, and for his 47 years of service in policing.”
As interim chief constable, Matsumoto said he is committed to serving in the role while the police board begins its search for the next SPS chief, and looks forward to working with the board “to maintain momentum on the work that matters most for Surrey.”
“Throughout this leadership transition, our focus remains unchanged: keeping people in Surrey safe,” the statement said.
Peace Arch News has also reached out to SPS police board executive director Jason Kuzminski.