Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says he was run over by vehicle
Mayor says he is 'doing OK'; police confirm they are investigating a dispute
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says he was verbally assaulted and run over by a vehicle on Saturday, according to a statement sent to CBC News.
In the statement, McCallum says the incident happened while he was out grocery shopping.
"It is now under police investigation and I am doing OK," said the statement.
The statement did not say where the incident happened or why McCallum was verbally assaulted.
On Monday, a spokesperson from Surrey RCMP said they could not confirm the identities of anyone involved, but said officers were investigating a dispute between parties who knew each other, and in which one person stated their foot was run over by a vehicle.
Ivan Scott said he was at the supermarket where the alleged incident happened — the South Point Save-on-Foods — collecting signatures for his "Keep the RCMP in Surrey" campaign. While he says he did not witness the exact incident, he said the mayor had approached their table to get them to stop canvassing.
He said the mayor's claims he was run over by a car were "ridiculous."
"It's the most stupid thing I've ever come across in my life," Scott said.
"If you're walking toward me and somebody had ridden over your foot, you would be in pain and you would be hobbling, and you're not doing that, because I saw you walking toward me and you showed nothing of that."
McCallum is up for re-election next year, and has faced criticism over the course of his term for the city's transition from RCMP to an independent police force.