Idaho man says bilingual police officers and firefighters will help save more lives.
By NOVELLA CARPENTER
Idaho Falls Post Register (Idaho)
Originally published Aug 2006
Jon Johnson, an officer with the Idaho Falls Police Department, remembers being flagged down in his squad car once by a Spanish-speaking man.
Johnson couldn’t understand what the man was saying, but he knew the man was in distress. So Johnson waited for a translator to arrive - to tell him the man “got his foot run over by a car.”
Because of language barriers like these, one Idaho Falls man is spearheading an effort to teach Spanish to emergency responders.
Mark Argyle, the man responsible, heard that there was a need for Spanish speakers in the emergency response community when he began volunteering with the Medical Reserve Corp. He began to understand that police officers and firefighters who don’t have at least some Spanish-speaking skills are at a disadvantage.
“In hospitals and doctors’ offices they have people on-hand who speak Spanish,"" he said. ""For planned events, there’s no problem - but what about in an emergency situation?”
There’s no denying the need, he said, pointing to the growth of the Hispanic community.
According to numbers from the state Department of Commerce and Labor, Hispanics made up 4 percent of the population in Bonneville County in 1990; by 2004, that percentage had doubled to 8 percent. Argyle realized that this growing population would require more Spanish speakers in the emergency-response community. He immediately began sending out feelers for interest in a series of classes.
Argyle was surprised by the enthusiastic response to an e-mail he sent. One-hundred Idaho Falls firefighters and emergency medical technicians expressed interest, and 40 from the police department said they would be interested in learning basic phrases in Spanish.
It won’t be the first Spanish language training in the area.
For example, Pocatello police undergo a three-day-long “survival Spanish” training course every year.
Only a few officers in Idaho Falls are familiar with the language, though. Five out of 91 Idaho Falls police officers are fluent in Spanish, and when they are on shift, translating often becomes a supplemental duty in additional to their other work.
Officer John Marley is one of the force’s fluent Spanish speakers. He learned the language while serving on a mission in Bolivia.
Being bilingual has helped him tremendously in his past four years on the force, he said. When other officers are engaged in a traffic stop or respond to call that requires a translator, Marley is summoned to the scene. Even when he’s off duty, he may get called to serious cases to translate.
Marley said he’s encountered cases of domestic violence or child abuse that had gone unreported or uninvestigated because of language barriers.
“The officers just didn’t have the tools,"" Marley said. ""We want to investigate every case - no matter if they speak Spanish or English.”
Lew Rodriguez of the Idaho Migrant Council, a nonprofit organization devoted to improving the lives of Hispanics, said he thinks language training for officers should be encouraged but not mandatory. He said he knows it’s an ongoing issue because Idaho Falls Police Chief J. Kent Livsey has asked him to refer Spanish speakers for jobs on the force.
The Idaho Falls Fire Department could also use some Spanish language training for its firefighters, though it has a few on staff who are bilingual.
Still, Fire Chief Dean Ellis said, survival Spanish - a few phrases that will allow firefighters to home in on the problem - would be great.
“We have a lot of migrant workers here,"" Ellis said, ""and we get called out to take care of people injured in a farm accident or at home. We can’t speak Spanish and they can’t speak English.”
Argyle has found a set of books tailored for police officers and firefighters. He has also begun reviewing resumes of potential teachers - who must be native speakers and hold a teaching degree. He agrees they should start with basics, with a couple of classes per week.
“It’s a great idea,"" Johnson said. ""But it’s going to be difficult to implement. It’s hard to take people who have a regular job to dedicate time to learn. It takes a lot of effort on both the part of the student and the teacher.”
For example, he said, if officers don’t regularly speak Spanish, their skills will atrophy.
The Pocatello Police Department has experienced this problem. Garry Pritchett, a Pocatello police spokesman, criticized the department’s program, saying, ""If you don’t use it, you lose it.""
In Bannock County, though, the Hispanic population hovers at 5 percent.
Cost, too, may be an issue.
In order to pay for books, instructors and officer comp time, which Argyle estimates would cost around $30,000, some major fundraising has to be done. Argyle hopes to use Acts of Kindness Foundation, a nonprofit organization, as a fiscal umbrella in order to accept donations. But so far, no money has been raised.
Despite the obstacles, Johnson agrees that it would best if every patrol officer could speak Spanish.
“There will be that one time we needed someone who speaks Spanish,"" Johnson said, ""and we can’t choose who gets sent to each call.”
Copyright 2006 The Post Register