Saskatoon police chief returns to work after bout with COVID

Add Troy Cooper to the list of COVID-19 recoveries in Saskatchewan.

Saskatoon’s police chief returned to his office Monday after a two-week isolation period following his positive diagnosis.

Cooper told the Brent Loucks Show on Thursday he feels fortunate he only experienced mild symptoms and was still able to continue running the police service.

“I was able to do much of my regular job from home. I had a makeshift office there. I was able to connect with everyone virtually. It impacted me a lot less than other people,” said Cooper.

“I’ve got some great staff here. They stepped up. Deputy Chief (Mitch) Yuzdepski and Deputy Chief (Randy) Huisman, people who know them know what kind of character those guys have and how easily it is for them to step in. It was comforting.”

Cooper believes he contracted COVID from “a community transmission.”

Members of his family also tested positive, something Cooper calls a silver lining.

“The fact that self-isolation was done as a group (made it easier),” Cooper said. “A lot of people faced loneliness and that sort of thing as they are self-isolating. I didn’t have to go through it.”

Since the start of the pandemic, 19 staff members of the Saskatoon Police Service have tested positive and 72 have missed work self-isolating after travelling or because they came in close contact with someone who had the virus.

Cooper said it has been a juggling act at times.

“It has really impacted not only the mental health of officers with the additional stress of having to deal with this in the community, but some of the policies that we’ve had to put in place to keep people safe,” Cooper said.

“It has been a challenging time for frontline officers.”