Surrey Police Service has announced the appointment of the second of three Deputy Chief Constables.
The latest is Mike LeSage, a longtime RCMP member who brings “exemplary service, expertise, and leadership in operational and cultural diversity policing,” according to a news release on Monday (Jan. 18).
LeSage will be the officer in charge of the Community Policing Bureau of the city’s fledgling force. His anticipated start date is early February.
He brings more than 24 years of policing service to Surrey. Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, LeSage is a member of Garden River First Nation.
According to a bio, “he has worked in a variety of divisions across the nation from large urban centers to small, isolated fly-in communities. He has a passion for community policing and all that can be accomplished when we work together with the citizens we serve.
“He has served with the RCMP for his entire career and has been promoted through the ranks and at present is the Assistant Commissioner, Chief Officer for the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) of British Columbia”
In a statement, LeSage said “it is a rare opportunity to be apart of creating a police agency from the ground up, so I am looking forward to working with the Executive Management Team and the community to build an exemplary community- centered Surrey Police Service.”
LeSage began his career with the RCMP in 1996 and spent five years in Williams Lake, BC, working in General Duty and First Nations policing. He later moved to the Northwest Territories in 2001 where he worked in the Fort Smith Detachment, then in several positions in Yellowknife with Major Crimes and Drug Section, as the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline Coordinator, and finally with Drug and Organized Crime Awareness Service.
With this latest hiring for its executive team, Surrey Police Service is now “focusing on the next layer of leadership and seeking to hire for the Superintendent rank over the course of the coming weeks. Posting for these positions can be found at surreypolice.ca/careers.”
On Jan. 6, Superintendent Jennifer Hyland, officer in charge of Ridge Meadows RCMP, was the first of three deputy chief constables to be hired to the Surrey Police Service. Her first day on the job will be Jan. 25.
Also, Surrey Police Service has hired Sharlene Brooks, formerly with Delta Police, as the department’s Public Affairs and Communications Manager.
• READ MORE: Jennifer Hyland named Surrey Police Service’s first deputy chief constable.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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