SURREY, B.C. -- A Surrey mom whose son, an innocent bystander, was murdered in the Surrey Six slayings, wants the city to pump the brakes on the transition to a municipal police force.
But even as one of the city’s most prominent victim’s advocates says she can’t get the mayor to return her calls.
Chris Mohan was just a 22-year-old student when he was shot dead alongside five other victims in one of the Lower Mainland’s most notorious episodes of gangland violence.
In the ensuing years, as Eileen Mohan sought justice for her son, she watched as three RCMP officers pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the investigation.
Despite that misconduct, Mohan says her dealings with the RCMP have been largely positive.
“The only people I knew who lifted me up was the RCMP,” she said. “They became my second family. They treated me with so much care, so much respect.”
Thirteen years after Chris Mohan became an innocent victim in the Surrey Six massacre, the city is pushing ahead with a transition to a municipal police force, led by Mayor Doug McCallum, who is eager to see it through as quickly as possible.
Mohan, an outspoken advocate for victims since her son’s death, would like to speak to McCallum about the transition, but says he won’t return her calls.
“I want an appointment. Nothing. No response. So I’m thinking this man doesn’t want to talk to anybody,” Mohan said.
CTV News also reached out to the mayor — and hasn’t heard back.
A frustrated Mohan wrote a letter to the premier and B.C.’s solicitor general, asking them to step in, because she feels people opposed to the change are not being heard at city hall.
Coun. Linda Annis, also an RCMP supporter, wants the province to order a referendum on the issue.
"When you have victims of crime whose families have been so tragically impacted by this speaking out, saying they want to keep the RCMP, I think the mayor needs to be listening and I think the province needs to be listening,” said Annis.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has resisted calls for the province to intervene.
“We appreciate concerns regarding the Surrey policing transition. However, the law in B.C. is clear: municipalities with populations over 5,000 people are responsible for police services in their communities. In 2018, Surrey City Council voted unanimously to terminate their agreement with the RCMP and move to a municipal police department,” the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General said in a statement.
The statement went on to say the province’s director of police services will be responsible for oversight of Surrey’s new police force, including during the transition from the existing RCMP.
