Kabaddi Cops
Greg Cote
Canada, 2005
English
24 minutes

Director: Greg Cote

Kabaddi Cops is the remarkable story about a determined group of Canadian police officers from Toronto (GTA), who take up kabaddi a 4,000 year old sport in order to bond with the local South Asian community.

After witnessing a protest over racial profiling in front of Peel Regional police headquarters in 2002, Inspector Barry Dolan believed the sport could ease tensions and promote harmony between police and South Asians. His method was unorthodox and surprising to everyone.

By selecting a small group of dedicated young men who knew nothing about the sport and very little about the culture, the inspector formed a kabaddi team comprised entirely of police officers from his own department. Their focus was on becoming closer to the community and bridging the gap that often exists between police and immigrants. The team practiced hard on their days off and began competing in tournaments and festivals to the delight of thousands of enthusiastic spectators. In doing so, the Peel Police kabaddi team became the only non-Asian team anywhere in the world.

Director’s Bio

This is the second short documentary by independent producer and director Greg Cote. His first film, Where There’s Smoke, captured two awards in March 2005 at the Dawson City International Film Festival. Greg and his brother Doug have combined their talents to form a small filmmaking company in Canada called Grey Dog Productions. Kabaddi Cops became a favourite at film festivals in Mumbai, London and New York.