Police chief to focus on diversity, drug crackdown
Metis Nation- Saskatchewan Senator and elder Nora Cummings remembers hiding from the police as a child — so the official swearing in of new Saskatoon police Chief Troy Cooper held special meaning for her.
Cummings, 80, told a crowd packed into Saskatoon’s city council chamber to watch Cooper become the city’s new police chief Wednesday that she never thought she would see the day when a Metis person assumed that role.
“Today, for me, it is such an honour to see that it is one of our people that is now the chief of police,” Cummings told reporters. “He’s a role model to our young people. He’s a role model to our community here.”
Cummings presented Cooper with a Metis sash prior to his swearing in at the ceremony. Cooper played down his Metis heritage to reporters, pointing to his appearance as a Caucasian man.
The new police chief spoke some Cree during the ceremony and joked about the quality of his skill with the language. However, he acknowledged there are issues with the justice system, responding to a question on the divisive not guilty verdict after the trial of Gerald Stanley in the shooting death of Colten Boushie.
“I do agree that there’s a large component of the community, of our community, that’s unhappy with the justice system as a whole,” Cooper told reporters. “Police are part of the justice system, but we are not the justice system.”
He told the crowd he wants to involve the Indigenous community in new ways and seek help in decision-making from Indigenous women.
Cooper also said he plans to target addictive drugs, which he believes are driving an increase in property crime in Saskatoon. His predecessor, Clive Weighill, saw a similar connection, frequently citing methamphetamine as a cause of rising crime rates.
Cooper noted 53 more armed robberies were reported in Saskatoon in 2017 compared to 2016.
“We have to address that root cause,” he said.
He also warned of an opioid crisis, noting seven people died of fentanyl overdose in Saskatchewan in 2017, while 462 deaths were linked to fentanyl next door in Alberta.
Wednesday’s ceremony had a pronounced Indigenous flavour with prayers from an elder, drumming and the Metis national anthem performed by schoolchildren with violins. The ceremony also featured officers with ceremonial swords and a bagpipe.
Mayor Charlie Clark called it a “very exciting day for our city.”
“Thank you for answering the ad,” board of police commissioners chair Darlene Brander said to Cooper, who was previously employed as the police chief in Prince Albert.