A Surrey Police Service officer has been charged with excessive speeding in connection with a crash last year.
The BC Prosecution Service announced the charges in a media statement Thursday (June 20) that Const. Jared Cebryk had been charged with one count of excessive speeding in connection to an incident that occurred on June 18, 2023, in Surrey.
A bulletin from the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC was issued on May 16 in connection to the 2023 incident. The IIO concluded that reasonable grounds existed for it to forward a report to the BC Prosecution Service asking that it consider charging a Surrey Mountie and a Surrey Police Service officer in relation to a traffic collision.
On June 18, 2023, police in Surrey responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle, a green Hyundai Elantra, in a parking lot at 100 Avenue of Green Timbers Urban Forest.
“The Hyundai was subsequently involved in a collision at the intersection of 100 Avenue and 140 Street. The male driver of the Hyundai was taken into custody shortly thereafter and transported to a hospital where he was found to have sustained injuries,” the bulletin reads.
On June 18, 2024, Cerbyk was charged with one count of excessive speeding under the Motor Vehicle Act. The section refers to speeds of at least 40 km/h over the speed limit.
Cebryk is scheduled to appear in Surrey Provincial Court on July 15.
Ian MacDonald, SPS media liaison, told the Now-Leader he could not comment on the charges or whether Cebryk was pursuing the Hyundai at the time of the collision.
"But I do want to point out that Const. Cebryk is a valued member of Surrey Police Service and that in the two-and-a-half years that he's been with us, he's contributed a great deal to frontline policing and public safety in Surrey, and he's going to continue in that important role pending the outcome of the process," MacDonald said.
Damienne Darby, communications counsel for the BC Prosecution Service, said in an email to the Now-Leader that "no further charges were approved in relation to this report to Crown Counsel from the IIO."
Darby said the prosecution will a release a "clear statement" as to why charges were not approved against the Surrey RCMP officer at the conclusion of the case.
-With files from Tom Zytaruk