City of Richmond welcomes new RCMP OIC

09 March 2022

The City of Richmond welcomes the appointment of Chief Superintendent Dave Chauhan to the role of Officer-In-Charge (OIC) for the Richmond RCMP detachment.

C/Supt. Chauhan has been with the RCMP for 31 years, and brings extensive and diverse operational and leadership policing experience to Richmond. That includes over a decade in northern BC as well as senior roles in the Lower Mainland including his most recent position as acting Officer-In-Charge of the Lower Mainland Integrated Teams.

“On behalf of the City of Richmond, we are pleased to welcome Chief Superintendent Chauhan to the role of OIC with the Richmond detachment,” said Mayor Malcom Brodie. “Council and the RCMP have a strong and long-standing relationship to support actions and initiatives to keep Richmond safe and respect our rich cultural diversity. We know that will continue under Chief Superintendent Chauhan’s experienced leadership and we look forward to working with him and his team to further strengthen the safety and resilience of our community.”

“I am honoured and thrilled to have been chosen as the new Officer-In-Charge of the City of Richmond’s RCMP Detachment,” said Chief Superintendent Chauhan. “Richmond is where I first set foot in Canada when I arrived at YVR airport 40 years ago and it is truly a humbling experience to now serve the citizens of this vibrant and diverse city.”

C/Supt. Chauhan takes the reins in Richmond from Officer-In-Charge Assistant Commissioner Will Ng who left the detachment to take on new responsibilities as Assistant Commissioner in charge of Federal Investigative Services and Organized Crime for the BC RCMP.

“I am looking forward to leading a remarkable team of officers and municipal staff, and building on the excellent public safety initiatives and member wellness platforms established by previous Officer-In-Charge Assistant Commissioner Will Ng,” added Chief Superintendent Chauhan. “I am committed to working in collaboration with Mayor and Councillors and our community partners to provide effective and efficient policing service to the visitors and residents of Richmond.”

C/Supt. Chauhan began his career with the RCMP in 1991 and he served 14 years at the Prince George Detachment working in several sections including General Duty, Traffic Section, Drug Investigation Unit, Property Crime Unit, Serious Crime and Major Crime Units.

In 2005, he moved with his family to the Lower Mainland to take a posting with BC RCMP’s Major Crime Section. Since then, he has worked in several major crime sections including the Surrey Detachment and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).

In 2017, Chief Superintendent Chauhan worked as an investigator and Accredited Team Commander in the Operations Support Officer role at IHIT. He assumed command of IHIT as Officer-In-Charge in 2019, leading a multi-jurisdictional team of investigators, analysts and civilians who operated from the BC RCMP’s headquarters at Green Timbers in Surrey. That team included police officers from the RCMP, Abbotsford, New Westminster, Port Moody and West Vancouver police departments.

Immediately prior to taking on his new role in Richmond, Chief Superintendent Chauhan was acting Officer-In-Charge of the Lower Mainland Integrated Teams, which included IHIT, the Integrated Emergency Response Team, Integrated Forensic Identification Service, Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service, and the Integrated Police Dog Service. Under his leadership, these five integrated teams provided specialized policing services to 33 municipal and provincial jurisdictions as well as 40 Indigenous communities throughout the Lower Mainland.

C/Supt. Chauhan will begin his new role with the Richmond RCMP detachment in the next few weeks.