A family of four Black sisters in Surrey say they’re traumatized after all of them — including the youngest one at 10 years old — were told by police to get out of their home with their hands up, with seemingly no explanation. They say their white neighbours were treated very differently. Blanche Monabeka says around 5 p.m. on Monday, an officer came to her door and told her they had reports of a weapon in the area. Monabeka says they didn’t have any information, and so the officer told her to go back inside. A short time later, she and her sisters heard a police officer yelling on a megaphone for everyone to come out with their hands up. Ultimately the sisters, which included a 15-year-old and 10-year-old, were allowed to go back inside after becoming completly shaken up from the incident. Monabeka says she was confused because their house has tenants in the basement, both Caucasian. She says police only spoke to those tenants, but later never demanded they come out with their hands raised. Dr. June Francis with the Hogan’s Alley Society says she was horrified when she heard the story. She describes it as “disturbing” and “saddening,” adding the incident needs to be closely looked at.
Mounties in Surrey, B-C, say they have arrested two youths and broken up a dial-a-dope drug trafficking scheme. Police say the investigation began last month with suspected drug trafficking activity in an underground parkade leading to a condo in a nearby complex. Mounties seized bulk and pre-packaged quantities of suspected powder cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and M-D-M-A Two 16-year-olds, one of whom allegedly had a loaded handgun, were arrested but charges have not yet been laid.
Surrey’s mayor and council faced criticism Wednesday, after it was revealed they’d voted themselves a raise at a closed-door meeting in January. The 2.3-per cent raise was first revealed by the Surrey Now-Leader. With the pay bump, Mayor Doug McCallum now earns $156,000 per year, while councilors earn $79,968. Following some backlash Three councilors, Steven Pettigrew, Jack Hundial and Linda Annis, say they’ll donate their raises to charity. Mayor McCallum declined doing an on camera interview but issued a statement saying the raise was discussed behind closed doors because there were confidential issues involved, and the raises were reviewed by an external third party. when asked about it Coun. Allison Patton said she couldn’t talk about it because it happened in a closed council meeting.
B-C health officials say they’re pleased with a national vaccine panel’s endorsement of their approach to wait up to four months before providing the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health has also given its nod to the province’s four-month interval between shots, up from 42 days. Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say setting the second dose at four months allows for a greater number of people to get vaccinated and the wait may even provide longer-lasting protection against the illness. Henry and Dix say in a statement another 524 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in B-C, for a total of 81-thousand, 909 infections since the pandemic began
Police remain on high alert at the U-S Capitol due to a militia group’s possible plot to storm the building today. The threat appears to be connected to a far-right conspiracy theory that former president Donald Trump will rise again to power on March 4th and that thousands will come to Washington, D-C to try to remove Democrats from office. Federal agents are looking for any increases in the number of hotel rooms being rented, monitoring flights to the area, car rental reservations and any buses being chartered to bring groups into the capital, but found nothing significant.
Authorities are sifting through data recorded by the vehicle Tiger Woods was driving last week when he crashed near Los Angeles. It’s unclear if the data can add to what authorities have already said about the wreck. Woods’ S-U-V was moving at a high rate of speed when it jumped a median, crossed oncoming lanes and ended up rolling over on the other side of the road. Woods’ lower right leg and ankle were shattered.
The COVID vaccine options for Canadians are growing. Health Canada’s senior medical advisor says the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be approved for use within seven days. Dr. Supriya Sharma says Canadians can also be confident in recent decisions to stretch out the interval between the first and second doses to four weeks. That would allow more people to get a first dose. Experts are saying up to 80 per cent of Canadians over 16 could get a single dose of vaccine by the end of June using the four-month interval.
Surrey Schools is looking for some community input in the 2021-22 budget. The district is inviting all staff, students, parents and Surrey and White Rock residents to learn about and provide input on the 2021-22 budget. People can share their feedback through an online survey, email (consultations@surreyschools.ca).
BC is reporting 564 new cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths. A total of one-thousand-376 people have now died in the province due to the pandemic. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is also reporting 46 new cases of COVID variants of concern, raising the total to 246. The bulk of the cases — 218 — are the variant first seen in the U-K and the remaining 28 cases are the South Africa variant.
The Surrey Police Service has hired its first three inspectors. Earl Andersen, Steve Drennan and Ryan Hall have been announced as the first three inspectors “that will be supporting the Executive Management Team in leading and guiding the organization within the three bureaus of the SPS,” reads a release Today. The three men combined have 80 years of experience.