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After Waterloo region police posted a Black Histo- ry Month video, a local MPP and prominent Black activist is calling for the service to go further to show its support for mar- ginalized officers. Waterloo Regional Po- lice Service (WRPS) re- leased a YouTube video on Feb. 1, the first in a three- part series that will focus on the personal impact of 2020, current racial issues and the importance of re- presentation at WRPS. Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo, who is the anti-racism, citizen- ship and immigration crit- ic with the NDP, says that while it's great to see WRPS give space to discuss anti- Black racism, the video edges on "trauma porn." "I feel that same kind of disquiet in my spirit that I felt when the video of George Floyd being mur- dered at the hands of those officers first began circu- lating," she said. "It's that visceral, the way that the officers are explaining their experience." In the video, Black offi- cers shared the painful, conflicting emotions they've had amid growing anti-police sentiment fu- elled by racial injustice in Canada and the U.S. Const. Jeremy Kyei said "it was tough to put on the uniform" after seeing vid- eos of George Floyd's death shared by news outlets and on social media last sum- mer. "Seeing the video over and over of him, at the hands of someone who's supposed to help him, liter- ally just stopping him from breathing, I'm looking at him like, 'That could have been me,'" said Const. Ka- deen Cole. "That could be one of my family members." Lindo said she immedi- ately called her team after watching the video, asking them to reach out to the in- dividual officers to make sure they're OK. "There was no discus- sion about what is happen- ing to provide support to these officers," Lindo said, acknowledging she isn't aware if these individuals received mental health support from WRPS. For privacy reasons, the ser- vice could not disclose this information. "There are so many ways in which Black people are asked to put their trau- ma on display without pro- viding us with any support or healing," she said, add- ing she worries that mar- ginalized officers are being thrown into the middle of a contentious debate around community safety and po- lice funding. "Everybody seems to feel like displaying our trauma is sufficient." Const. Andre Johnson said WRPS' wellness pro- gram and 24-7 peer support team are available to help officers that may be strug- gling. "I am personally a part of the Peer Support Team and reached out to many of our BIPOC (Black, Indige- nous & People of Colour) members to offer support and resources, including our Employee Assistance Program (EAP)," Johnson wrote in an email to the Chronicle, adding a sum- mer town hall meeting was held to discuss the service's equity policies and its path forward amid internation- al protests. While peer support is a great resource, Lindo says counsellors who under- stand the unique impact of racial trauma are rare. It is unclear if WRPS peer sup- port workers are trained to handle this issue. In 2021, Johnson says WRPS will focus on anti- Black racism training for all members of the service. "We continue to educate and build capacity for our members," he said. Lindo says the thou- sands of people who marched in Kitchener over the summer were calling for a systemic change in po- licing and solutions, not additional opportunities to share personal experienc- es. "They just let us talk about it, and that doesn't change anything," she said. "The march was for change, and the march was for solutions and the march was for commit- ment from leadership to do that work ... "You can't just put dif- ferent people into the uni- form and think that you've solved the problem." 'EVERYBODY SEEMS TO FEEL LIKE DISPLAYING OUR TRAUMA IS SUFFICIENT' Above: Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo. Right: "Seeing the video over and over of him, at the hands of someone who's supposed to help him, literally just stopping him from breathing, I'm looking at him like, 'That could have been me,'" said Const. Kadeen Cole. "That could be one of my family members. That could be someone from my culture. Mathew McCarthy photo LAUREN SCOTT laurenscott@torstar.ca NEWS Lauren Scott/Metroland