Surveillance video doesn't show car running over Surrey mayor's foot: court documents

Court documents obtained by CTV News Vancouver Wednesday are shedding light into why police believe Mayor Doug McCallum lied when he said his foot was run over.

The alleged incident happened on Sept. 4, 2021 at a Save-on-Foods parking lot where members of a group called "Keep the RCMP in Surrey" were collecting signatures. The group is opposed to seeing the Mounties replaced with a municipal police force – one of McCallum's key promises when he was campaigning in 2018, and a transition that is already underway.

The court documents from McCallum's public mischief file include an "Information to Obtain," a document prepared by police in order to get a search warrant for the mayor's home and access to evidence from various media outlets.

That included CTV News Vancouver's on-camera interview with the mayor two days after the incident. On Sept. 6, 2021, he told CTV News that his doctor had advised him to rest and elevate his foot but since the interview was close and his left foot was injured and not his right, he was able to speak to us for a broadcast story.

He described a member of the Keep the RCMP in Surrey's car driving up to him while he was leaving his vehicle. The court documents identify the woman as Debra Johnstone.

"She pulled right up and blocked me and prevented me from walking between the two cars," he said at the time. "She just pinned me so I couldn't get out, just sat there and yelled at me at the top of her lungs

But the court documents said the video evidence does not line up with his story.

"The video surveillance shows that McCallum was not pinned up against a vehicle," the court document says.

"(Debra Johnstone) provided a different version of events where Douglas McCallum walked over to her car and that she did not run over his foot … The video surveillance supported the version of events provided by Debra Johnstone," it continues.

McCallum said after his foot was run over, Johnstone drove through the parking lot "at a very high speed" while shouting profanities at him.

But the court documents revealed, "video surveillance shows Johnstone slowly roll through the right hand turn and then proceed at a normal speed through the parking lot to her parking stall."

She did admit to police that she told the mayor to resign. After they exchanged words, she said she parked and maintained that at no point did she drive over his foot.

The ITO also said based on Johnstone's statement and surveillance footage, McCallum's complaint was "partially disproved."

Paul Daynes, campaign manager for Keep the RCMP in Surrey, said he's grateful for the diligence of police.

"We have long known exactly what happened and the events bare no relationship with Mayor McCallum's version," he said.

He said Johnstone is traumatized by what transpired but she continues to receive support from family and the community.

"She's doing remarkable well," he said. "She's very well-known to many of us as a hardworking, prominent member of our campaign."

City councillors Jack Hundial, Brenda Locke and Linda Annis have been calling on the mayor to step down until the charges are dealt with – which won’t be until after October's municipal election.

"McCallum needs to step aside so that we can get on with city business," Annis said, referring to the heckling the mayor received during last Monday's meeting, forcing it to come to an end after just seven minutes.

"As government officials we should be held in a high, high regard and be setting the standards for the way that the residents in our city act and this kind of behavior is not reflective of that. And for that reason, I think Doug McCallum needs to step aside until he has his day in court," she said.

But the mayor has been adamant he will not step down and has said the calls for him to pause his duties is a political move because of the upcoming election. His public mischief trial is scheduled for Oct. 31, two weeks after Surrey voters go to the polls.