A strain on the force

Chronic underfunding and fresh crises have left Indigenous police services stretched thin - and some on the brink of collapse

- JOY SPEARCHIEF-MORRIS

Six Nations police officer Cody Johnson said responding to drug and alcohol crises has taken a growing toll.

It took Cody Johnson seven tries to be accepted into the Six Nations Police Service.

Johnson always wanted to be a police officer growing up on the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve, eight kilometres outside of Brantford, Ont.

But it wasn’t until his brother died by suicide in 2012 that he knew being a police officer — and making a difference — was a priority for him.

“Deep down in everyone’s heart, we want to make sure our community is safe and we want to help protect the ones who can’t protect themselves in that sense,” he said.

But making a difference is not easy. The Six Nations reserve stretches across more than 180 square kilometres, and when resources are stretched thin it becomes hard to get to calls on time, Johnson said.

Since he joined the force three years ago, the issue of drugs and alcohol has grown worse. The pressure on officers and their families takes a toll. Today, when he is called in during the night to back up fellow officers, Johnson said his wife worries.

“She knew the magnitude of the type of calls I would be dealing with, so she would sleep but she wouldn’t sleep at the night calls,” he said.

The Six Nations Police Service is one of the nine Indigenous police forces serving 86 First Nations communities in Ontario.

Six Nations Police Service community service officer Cody Johnson jokes with students during the Police Athletic League for Students program at Emily C. General Elementary School in Ohsweken, Ont., in May. The after-school initiative sees grades 7 and 8 students play sports with members of the local police.

Community leaders say funding shortfalls, outdated equipment and staffing shortages are hampering Indigenous police forces.