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Police get course in Latino By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune In some ways, it's just like the first day of any entry-level Spanish class. The students joke while waiting for the session to start and fidget as the instructor begins. Following the instructor's lead, they repeat phrases hesitantly, unsure of the pronunciation. These aren't grade school or high school students. Each student here carries a badge. Medford police began a 3-month-long course of Spanish instruction Tuesday. Officers are expected to listen to audio tapes in their patrol cars and study flash cards. But it isn't conversational Spanish. Phrases learned in this class won't help officers navigate Mexico while on vacation, officer Willy Rojas said. The vocabulary, questions and commands are all directly related to police work. "Alto" (stop), "escuche" (listen) and "su licencia, por fav�r" (your license, please) are a few of the expressions officers tackled in their first "survival Spanish" lesson. "Survival" is the key word for officers and citizens with whom they come in contact, said Medford police Lt. Tim George. "Miscommunication can result in tragic events," George said. With the Spanish training, the police department is trying to increase officers' awareness and improve cooperation with Medford's Hispanic community, George said. The session began with a video showing a Texas constable assaulted by three Spanish-speaking men after the officer pulled the trio over. The trio spoke in their native language about their plans to take down the officer - a plan that the officer didn't understand. The misunderstanding cost him his life. "I'm not teaching you guys how to speak Spanish," Rojas said in his first role as a training instructor for the police department. "I'm teaching you guys how to be safe around Latinos." But Rojas, who immigrated to the United States from Colombia, also concentrated on breaking down Hispanic stereotypes and officers' understanding of cultural issues. Knowing the dynamics of the Hispanic family, the importance of courtesy titles such as don, se�or and se�orita and how to handle conversations via interpreters helps put officers on the right foot when dealing with those who speak only Spanish. "We're gonna get better service that way, and they're going to be happier," Rojas said. Officer Brent Mak studied Spanish on his own before applying for law enforcement jobs in Southern California. "It's essential down there," Mak said. When he spoke the language, he saw doors open to him that were closed to other officers, he said. Hispanic citizens see the effort of speaking their language as a sign of respect, Mak explained. "And even if you're messing it up, they appreciate it," Mak said. The training is a good first step for police, said Milo Salgado, a former member of the citizen advisory committee for the city of Medford. But the department needs to go further, he said. "(The training) will improve communication; it will help their image. I think the Spanish-speaking people will appreciate it," Salgado said. "But they cannot do a good job until they have a more proportional number of bilingual and bicultural officers to understand the (Hispanic) community." Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.