SURREY:Safe Surrey Coalition is condemning a video posted by Surrey Connect and the party’s mayoral candidate Brenda Locke, which has now been deleted. According to Safe Surrey, the deleted video compared Surrey Police Service (“SPS”) front-line officers to evil Star Wars Stormtroopers that were “intimidating law-abiding citizens.”
“Complete with the ‘Imperial March’ (Darth Vader’s theme music), Locke’s video falsely portrayed officers walking by as trying to harass protestors,” said Surrey City Councillor Laurie Guerra.
However, as explained by both the Surrey Police Union and Sgt. Rick Stewart, SPS work out of two buildings beside the courthouse and were simply on their lunch break in-between regular training sessions.Widely condemned by the public and media alike, the post has now mysteriously disappeared from all of Surrey Connect’s social media channels.
These kinds of false slanderous attacks on law enforcement only serve to undermine public trust and safety, according to Guerra.
“What Brenda Locke and her party finds funny is actually a direct and disgraceful assault on the role these brave men and women play in ensuring that our city is safe,” says Guerra. “Simply deleting the video does not preclude the disrespect that has been shown in the name of cheap politicking.”
For a party that always claims to prioritize the critical role that law enforcement plays in the quality of life enjoyed by Surrey citizens, this attack belies the rhetoric that Brenda Locke and her team have delivered for the past few years.
The Safe Surrey Coalition is calling for an immediate apology to these officers and a show of good faith from Surrey Connect that condemns political attacks on our front-line officers.
“I am hoping that Councillor Locke and her team will follow up their deletion of the video with a public statement that corrects the record and demonstrates the respect that these officers deserve,” adds Guerra. “Amidst this policing transition, public officials must do better.”
