Police learn Spanish to better serve their community

UPDATE 4/17/2017 5:10 p.m.:

Four South Monterey County police departments hope to improve community relations with a simple “hola.” In just a few months, many police officers will have basic Spanish speaking skills.

Soledad Police Chief Eric Sills, who is fluent, is teaching the course to 20-25 officers. He saw the need for bilingual officers, especially in an area that is 80-percent Hispanic. The officers won’t necessarily be fluent in Spanish, but they’ll be able to speak and understand the needs of those in the community.

“Why the individual called 911,” Sills said. “Find out if the person’s injured. Find out what their name is, their date of birth, where they live, and a few things like that.”

Officers will also receive a reference guide, which has the alphabet, numbers and phrases commonly used during medical calls, traffic stops and high risk incidents.

The idea isn’t just to speak Spanish, but hear it and understand it.

“I have role players that will assist with me,” Sills said. “Officers that do speak Spanish, and they’ll come in and we’ll put scenarios together where we actually walk through a person’s stop, a 911 unknown call.”

“Sometimes when you talk to them, they only answer in English and I don’t know what to do,” Ilaria Gonzalez said. “Sometimes my son will talk but he doesn’t really understand because he’s too young.”

Efforts are being paid for by a $850,000 grant aimed to improve relations between law enforcement and the four South County communities. According to police, it’s money well spent.

“Very beneficial because at least 80 percent or more of our contacts on the street are occurring in Spanish,” Officer Christopher Tyler said.

“We’re here to work with you, not against you and we’re just all on the same team here,” Sills said. “It really relieves a lot of fear and tension when they see that you speak their language.”

Sills studied Spanish in college and spent time in Spain. He helped the San Jose Police Department create its Spanish-speaking courses for officers. That has served as a model in Soledad.

ORIGINAL POST:

Stay watching at 6 p.m. when reporter Mariana Hicks speaks to Soledad Police Chief Eric Sills who is passing on his Spanish speaking skills to some 20 to 25 officers in the coming months.

Sills saw the need for bilingual officers, particularly in an area that is at least 80 percent Hispanic. The officers won’t necessarily be fluent in Spanish but they’ll be able to speak the language and understand the needs of those in the community.