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Abbotsford Police Department Chief Mike Serr announces retirement

Serr will be retiring at the end of 2023 after a 33-year career in policing
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Abbotsford Police Department Chief Mike Serr, shown here during a press conference in December, has announced he will be retiring at the end of the year. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)

Abbotsford Police Department Chief Mike Serr has announced he will be retiring at the end of the calendar year.

Serr shared the news on social media on Friday (April 6) afternoon, stating he will hang up the badge after 33 years in policing.

“It’s been an honour to work with the AbbyPD team and serve this wonderful community,” he posted in a shared statement. “The Police Board will now start the search for a new chief.”

Serr officially took over as chief on Oct. 1, 2018 and replaced Const. Bob Rich, who served 10 years in that role. He joined the APD in 2015 and previously served 26 years with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD).

He worked in a variety of challenging and demanding positions in Vancouver, including being the officer in charge of professional standards and later the organized crime section.

Serr joined the APD in November 2015 as the deputy chief constable of administration, and transferred to the role of deputy chief constable of operations in November 2017.

RELATED: New chief named for Abbotsford Police Department

He began his policing career with a bachelor of arts in criminology from Simon Fraser University.

Serr has received several commendations and awards during his career.

He was honoured with Chief Constable Commendations from both the APD and VPD, and is a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Meritorious Service Award.

In August 2017, he received a Chief Constable’s Citation for his work developing one of the most successful and recognized undercover programs in Canada.

More recently he made headlines for donating 67 per cent of his liver to his brother, who lives in Ottawa. His surgery occurred on March 3 in Toronto.

Serr also dropped the puck – and was honoured as a community hero – at the Abbotsford Canucks game against the Ontario Reign on Friday (April 7).

RELATED: Abbotsford Police chief recovering well after donating liver to brother

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Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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