Surrey Police Service Chief Constable Norm Lipinski is tasked with reviewing the police force's policies related to traffic crash scene management and "the handling" of victims and witnesses after a police watchdog received a complaint about a victim's body not being properly covered to preserve her privacy.
The complaint was lodged with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner on Dec. 27 and is contained in a heavily redacted report that came before the Surrey Police Board on Feb. 12.
"In particular, I ask that you review these policies from a trauma-informed lens and make amendments as required," former board administrator Mike Serr wrote to the chief on Jan. 16. "In addition, please conduct a review of the equipment in police vehicles to ensure that appropriate tools are available to police officers for use at fatal motor vehicle scenes to further protect victims, as well as to ensure the dignity to those who may pass away on scene."
Serr instructed Lipinski to report to the board on policy amendments and/or equipment needed. The board has 20 business days to notify the complainant, director of police services and police complaint commissioner explaining its response to the matter, pursuant to section 171(3) of the Police Act.
"There is no timeline to complete the investigation, however we will finish this one, we'll have a report ready for you through the chief constable at the March meeting," executive director Melissa Granum told the board.
Despite the complainant saying it was the SPS at the scene, Granum told the Now-Leader on Thursday that "the service or police complaint that is being investigated was an RCMP file, not an SPS file. We did not know that at the time the complaint came in; regardless we are conducting a review of the SPS policy to ensure it doesn't happen in the future by SPS. A concluding report will come to the Police Board at its March meeting."
The date of the crash, location and complainant's named have been blacked out of the documentation provided, except for comments from the complainant that "when the SPS arrived," officers secured the scene while an ambulance crew and firefighters did CPR. "We all waited holding our breath and praying that she would be okay," the complaint reads. "This wasn't the case, and they placed a small 8'4" tarp over her body. So small that you could see the outline of her body."
Following some more redaction, it continues: "It was cold and windy so one of the officers asked if I would like to sit in the back of the cruiser with the heat on which was appreciated. However, what wasn't appreciated was once I was in the car they proceeded to drive to the middle of the accident scene and park right beside this poor woman's body that I could clearly see the outline of under the tarp."
After still more more redaction, the complaint reads: "Whenever I've seen this type of accident on the news the tarp covering the scene is very large so nobody can see an outline of a body. The officers on scene were very nice but clearly there are some policies that need reviewing."
The complainant said bigger tarps "would be ideal" and recommended to police "don't take a victim beside the scene to re-traumatize them."
