Former Vancouver Police Board director calls out 'broken' system

Former Vancouver Police Board (VPB) director Rachel Roy isn’t holding back after resigning from the board during Thursday’s meeting.

“The board process was manipulated,” said Roy, who was appointed to the VPB in 2020.

Roy’s frustration stems from Thursday’s meeting, when it was announced there would be no vote required on the controversial School Liason Officer (SLO) program, despite vice chair Faye Wightman hinting otherwise at a previous meeting.

“We’re not asking for approval at this stage, they will come back in June with a final presentation,” said Wightman during the April VPB meeting.

At the start of Thursday’s meeting, Wightman said she misspoke and that the SLO program was voted on in November 2022 as part of the board’s vote on the overall VPD budget.

The budget, however, didn’t include any mention of the SLO program. Also, the budget was voted on four days prior to the school board voting to bring back the SLO program.

Roy quickly challenged the decision at Thursday's meeting, but was voted down by the rest of the board.

Mayor Ken Sim, who’s also the VPB Chair, declined an on-camera interview and wouldn’t comment on the VPB process. Wightman also declined an on-camera interview.

VPB executive director Jason Kuzminski did provide a written statement.

“As an operational decision of the chief, the plan did not require board approval,” said Kuzminski. “The (Vancouver Police Department) and board have continued to review the SLO program as it is being developed, in order to ensure public input is incorporated into the re-imagined program.”

Roy says she feels lied to and strongly questions the integrity of the board.

“The board is specifically set up the way it is to protect the department from political interference. We did not do that duty,” said Roy. “Police boards are broken.”