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Let’s be precise about what the dispute’s over. Uniformed cops will be minding the parade route, as they always do, and the organizers made a point of thanking them for that. Off-duty officers are welcome to march, the organizers say. Pride organizers have asked that police officers marching in the parade not wear their kit while doing so.

Bordeleau, for one, will not honour that request. He said so in a tweet Wednesday night and elaborated on it at length Thursday.

“They’re making a request and we acknowledge that request but … the uniform is part of our identity. For us, and for me, it’s — my officers will make that decision for themselves — but for me, to be there without it, it strips something away,” Bordeleau said in an interview. Other police officers can follow his lead or not, he said.

Bordeleau makes a persuasive case for why uniformed officers should be welcome in the parade.

“This is a big event that celebrates community and diversity. It celebrates inclusiveness. Us being there is an acknowledgment of all those important things,” he said. LGBTQ officers are crucial members of the Ottawa police force and Bordeleau believes it’s important for them to see him, in the same uniform they wear, supporting a community whose history with (and within) the force is troubled.

“I’ve participated now, since being chief in 2012. I was the first chief of police to march in uniform and I’m proud of that. But more important, our members have participated and wanted to participate in Pride,” Bordeleau said. “To be told that they can be there and not be in uniform, that’s hurtful to some people.”