# Beyond the Badge: Leading Communities with Compassion  | Cori Slaughter | TEDxWest Vancouver

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yufJa1aK9c
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/4yufJa1aK9c
Generated: 2026-01-29T17:31:36.44+00:00

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## Quick Overview

Cori Slaughter explains that leading communities with compassion, power based in connection, and play requires actively engaging with the four P's of policing—Purpose, Power, Partnership, and Play—to foster healing, trust, and resilience, especially following trauma like the opioid crisis or the murder of a colleague.

**Key Points:**
- Slaughter retired from municipal policing in 2018 after decades of service, including overseeing patrol operations for First Nations Police Service in Northern Ontario.
- She identifies four key elements (the four P's) for leading communities: Purpose, Power, Partnership, and Play.
- Power should be derived from connection (love) rather than fear or control, making it 1,000 times more effective.
- She recounts the trauma of an opioid crisis declaration and the shooting death of a fellow officer on Manitoulin Island, which deeply impacted her and her team.
- Healing from trauma and fostering resilience requires human connection, safety, peace, and empowerment, which she learned from the teachings of Senator Murray Sinclair.
- The speaker encourages the audience to ask themselves what small act of love they would offer the world if they knew they wouldn't be judged or forgotten.

![Screenshot at 00:10: Cori Slaughter, a former police officer, is introduced on stage at TEDx West Vancouver, setting the scene for her talk on transforming leadership through compassion and connection.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/4yufJa1aK9c/00-00-10.jpg)

**Context:** Cori Slaughter shares her insights on transforming policing and community leadership, drawing from her extensive career, including her service in municipal policing and overseeing operations for the First Nations Police Service in Northern Ontario. The talk focuses on moving beyond traditional, fear-based authority structures toward a model rooted in compassion, connection, and the four P's: Purpose, Power, Partnership, and Play, particularly in the aftermath of community trauma like the opioid crisis.

## Detailed Analysis

Cori Slaughter begins by sharing that she retired from municipal policing in 2018 after decades of service, including experience with First Nations Police Service in Ontario. She recounts the profound trauma she experienced, including the opioid crisis declaration in 2017 and the murder of a colleague, which left her and her community feeling emotionally and financially devastated. This experience led her to question how to lead people to heal. She outlines four principles (the four P's) for effective, compassionate leadership: Purpose, Power, Partnership, and Play. Purpose, she explains, is about connecting to the meaning of the work, not just the job description, and it must come from love, not fear or control. Power, when based in connection, is significantly more effective than power based in fear. Partnership involves building bridges and fostering connection between police and community members, including families. Finally, Play—which includes humor and levity—is essential for survival. She emphasizes that true healing requires connection, safety, peace, and empowerment, drawing inspiration from Senator Murray Sinclair's teachings. Slaughter concludes by challenging the audience to consider what small act of love they would offer the world if they knew they wouldn't be judged or forgotten, suggesting that love is the most powerful voice we have.

### Introduction and Background

- Cori Slaughter retired from municipal policing in 2018 after serving for decades, including in First Nations police services
- She cites personal trauma from the opioid crisis and a colleague's murder as catalysts for her new perspective.

### The Four P's of Leadership

- Slaughter structures her message around four principles: Purpose, Power, Partnership, and Play
- Purpose must be rooted in meaning, not just the job, and connection-based power is 1000 times more effective than fear-based power.

### Trauma and Healing

- She discusses the collective trauma experienced by her community and the police force following a tragic shooting
- Healing requires human connection, safety, peace, empowerment, and trust, echoing the teachings of Senator Murray Sinclair.

### Conclusion and Call to Action

- Slaughter summarizes that all four P's relate back to connection and love
- She leaves the audience with a question: what small act of love would they offer the world if they knew they would not be judged or forgotten?

![Screenshot at 00:05: The video displays a slide listing the event sponsors, including REC, VP Coaching, Rolling Bear Tiny Home Manufacturing, and others.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/4yufJa1aK9c/00-00-05.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:10: Cori Slaughter is introduced on stage, wearing a patterned beige dress, preparing to deliver her talk.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/4yufJa1aK9c/00-00-10.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:23: Slaughter gestures while listing the four P's of policing: Purpose, Power, Partnership, and Play.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/4yufJa1aK9c/00-00-23.jpg)
![Screenshot at 01:07: Slaughter points a finger while explaining that the 'pinky promise' was a secret, silent symbol of commitment.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/4yufJa1aK9c/00-01-07.jpg)
![Screenshot at 04:48: Slaughter uses hand gestures to emphasize the contrast between power based in control versus power based in connection.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/4yufJa1aK9c/00-04-48.jpg)