Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum charged with public mischief

The mayor of Surrey has been charged with public mischief, related to an incident involving a group against the city’s move from the RCMP to a municipal force.

Doug McCallum claimed a woman ran over his foot with a vehicle during the September altercation with the pro-RCMP group in a grocery store parking lot.

On Sept. 20, a special prosecutor, outside of Surrey RCMP, was appointed to look into the matter. On Dec. 10, the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) said the mayor has been charged.

In an statement to CityNews after the incident, McCallum said he was out grocery shopping when the incident happened. He also claimed he was verbally assaulted.

Breaking: Surrey Mayor facing a public mischief charge.
It’s related to an incident between @mccallum4mayor and the group gathering petition signatures to get a referendum on changing to a municipal police force. He alleged someone injured his foot#bcpoli @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/bxYEOocXkA

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) December 10, 2021

“The appointment of a Special Prosecutor is intended to avoid any potential for real or perceived improper influence in the administration of justice,” BCPS said Friday. “The BC RCMP Major Crime Section – Special Projects Unit took conduct of the Surrey RCMP investigation to ensure there was no potential for real or perceived conflict of interest or improper influence.”

The city’s transition to the Surrey Police Service has divided the community and has had passionate supporters on both sides.

The organizer of ‘Keep the RCMP in Surrey’ has maintained since the start McCallum’s allegation that his foot was run over is false.

A statement from the mayor provided by his office says, “We are in the middle of changing from RCMP to the Surrey Police Service and as this matter is before the courts, I will not be making any comment.”

According to the Criminal Code of Canada, public mischief is when someone “who, with intent to mislead, causes a peace officer to enter on or continue an investigation by” one or more of the following:

• making a false statement that accuses some other person of having committed an offence
• doing anything intended to cause some other person to be suspected of having committed an offence that the other person has not committed, or to divert suspicion from himself
• reporting that an offence has been committed when it has not been committed
• reporting or in any other way making it known or causing it to be made known that he or some other person has died when he or that other person has not died

Essentially public mischief is a charge of lying to police in instances where the lie results in unnecessary investigations, wasted public resources, and/or criminal charges against other innocent people.
Again, Doug McCallum will have his first court appearance Jan 25

— Lasia Kretzel (@rhymeswpretzel) December 10, 2021

McCallum is expected to be in Surrey Provincial Court on Jan. 25 for a first appearance. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.

McCallum may face pressure to take leave or step down

The charges could also bring public pressure on McCallum to take a leave of absence or step down, according to Hamish Telford, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of the Fraser Valley.

“He of course, under the law, is innocent until proven guilty in court. So he may well feel that he has every right to continue,” Telford said. “The public may well have other feelings as well as his colleagues on city council or more broadly in City Hall. So if he’s not inclined to step down immediately in light of these charges, I think he is going to have to assess his working relationships in on council and in City Hall.”

Telford recommends McCallum step aside as the charges are not a result of his private life, but are rather related to his major campaign issue to switch RCMP to a local police force.

However, he notes other politicians have shown officials can carry on in the face of these sorts of challenges.

“(Former U.S. President) Donald Trump has changed the rulebook about how one proceeds,” he said. “I think Donald Trump was being investigated through his entire term as president and his supporters loved him for fighting what they perceive to be a good fight and I think Doug McCallum will have his supporters as well [believing] he went into City Hall to shake things up.”

He also points to former Toronto mayor Rob Ford who remained a polarizing figure throughout his term and repeated scandals including drug use and, as a councillor, dropped charges of assault.

“He will have supporters who think that he’s fighting the good fight against all odds, against the establishment and they will continue to support him. So I think that this will only further polarize what has already been a very polarized situation,” he said.

With Surrey municipal elections just 10 months away, Telford says McCallum will have to consider whether to run again. With Surrey switching from RCMP to a municipal police force, and SkyTrain on the way, he may believe his two biggest campaign promises are fulfilled and decide to step down.

“If he does decide to run I think part of it will depend on where the charges are at if. If the trial has taken place, and he’s been found not guilty by a court of law, that puts him in a better position to run in the election. But if he is found guilty or the charges are still hanging over him, I think that makes his challenge quite a bit more difficult,” Telford said, adding what matters most is his relationships on council.

McCallum remains chair of the Surrey Police Board

The Surrey Police Vote campaign, which is pushing for a referendum on policing, argues McCallum needs to step down from the Surrey Police Board and recuse himself from City Council discussions or votes on policing issues until the matter is settled in court.

However, McCallum remains chair of the Surrey Police Board.

“The Surrey Police Board is aware of the legal situation involving the Chair of the Board. Per the BC Police Act, the Chair of the Board must be the Mayor of the municipality and has a non-voting role on the Board, except in the case of a tie,” the board said in a statement.

JUST IN:
The Surrey Police Board will not be removing Mayor Doug McCallum as Chair.
They stress the Board's independence from the Chair of the Board, citing how he has no voting powers unless there is a tie.@CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/srTYEhCSgu

— Robyn Crawford (@robyncrawford_) December 10, 2021

However, the board is somewhat distancing itself from the mayor.

“While the Board is bound by the Police Act on this matter, it is important to stress the Board’s independence from the Chair of the Board.”

With files from Sonia Aslam