by Jeff Achen
Thisweek Newspapers

Gustavo Chagoya is a member of Apple Valley's growing Hispanic community. When Apple Valley Police Officer Sean McKnight comes around his neighborhood in Cedar Knolls Trailer Park, the two men greet each other enthusiastically in Spanish.

It's the type of relationship the Apple Valley Police Department envisioned when they began offering training to 12 of their officers who volunteered to attend a Spanish language program tailored to police work. Officers completed the 12-week course in the first week of March. Now they've been putting their language skills to good use.

Sergeant John Bermel said the main benefit has been gathering basic information from people, such as names, dates of birth and information that allows them to make better initial decisions on the street.

Bermel said he uses his newly acquired Spanish skills in a variety of ways.

"I release a lot of [impounded] vehicles and over 50 percent are Latinos. It's also helped in handling calls,î Bermel said.

Bermel recounts a traffic stop he made on New Years Eve in which he was able to use the skills to administer field sobriety tests and figure out how to handle the traffic stop, including communicating to the Hispanic man to tell him his car was being towed.

"He wasn't drunk, but he didn't have a valid drivers license. It made things go smoother,î Bermel said. "Six months ago we wouldn't have been able to get/give that information.î

At least not without calling on an interpreter. Now, officers are using a limited number of words and phrases to make virtually unlimited progress.

"What happens is, when we try to use the Spanish it's appreciated. They know we aren't fluent, but they appreciate the effort,î Bermel said.

Apple Valley Police Officer Mike Tietz echoes that sentiment.

"If you don't know how to communicate with them at all, they're not going to be as trusting,î Tietz said. "You speak a few words and let them know you're trying to help them out and they trust you more.î

He said he can go a long ways without being fluent. He recounts an incident of domestic assault where he was able to pick up a couple of key words, which told him an assault had occurred and there was probably cause for an arrest.

"Ordinarily, it would just be one of those things where it'd take a lot more time and we'd probably have to turn things upside down,î Tietz said.

Instead, the filing of a police report was less of a disruption to police staff and the victim.
The training

Tietz admits the training takes a tremendous commitment on the part of the department and its officers, but it's something he and many of his fellow officers jumped at the chance to do.

The customized training is provided through the Dakota County Technical College's Diversity Institute. The training is the first of it's kind in the Twin Cities area, according to Customized Training Coordinator Harold Torrence.

Under the customized training, officers don't learn grammar or verb conjugation. They're not even going to focus on the alphabet. Torrence says the emphasis is on pronunciation, repetition and role play.

"The goal is to build relationships, be proactive instead of reactive,î Torrence said.

Bermel said the training is so effective and applicable because Torrence emphasizes language use as part of the class, teaching officers in Spanish. Torrence also includes cultural training.

"Now we have a better understanding of why you're going to see extended family in the home or their views on the role of government in life,î Bermel said.

Bermel said he's seeing the benefits of Spanish extend into his own home. He and his wife have adopted two children from Colombia. They adopted 11-year-old Mitchell and 6-year-old Lydia as infants. He said they're now taking an interest in their native country and language and he's able to connect with them through their mutual effort to learn Spanish.

"It's one thing for me to say, you two go learn to speak Spanish, but it's another to say you two go learn and I'm learning it too,î Bermel said.

Apple Valley Police Capt. Jon Rechtzigel said more officers have expressed interest in the program so they'll be holding the training again this summer. Rechtzigel said they're also planning on taking it to the next level with an advanced training course in the fall of 2006.

Members of the Hispanic community such as Gustavo Chagoya are excited to see law enforcement officials learning their language. Gustavo said he's talked to his neighbors and they agree it's good for relationships between Hispanics and the police.

"For most Hispanics, they don't understand the law,î Gustavo said. "It's important for working together. It makes the job easier and there's better communication.î

Officer Sean McKnight said it's not always easy to forge relationships with the people in the communities he patrols, but he does feel better about going into a situation with someone who doesn't speak English. That includes knowing Spanish curse words and slang.

"We're better prepared for what's coming at us,î McKnight said.

He said knowing a little Spanish is also helping turn larger crime trends. He said methamphetamine use has created a lot of problems in the Cedar Knolls area. Yet, the relationships he's forging through a little effort to speak Spanish are helping him fight meth-related crime.

"I've made a lot of good contacts up here,î McKnight said. "Now, it just keeps growing.î

Jeff Achen can be reached at av.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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