By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
“¿Tomaste esta noche?†a Carrboro police officer asked Javier Cid – asking in Spanish if he had been drinking. “Usted huele a alcohol,†the officer said, telling Cid he smelled like alcohol.
“Tengo dos cervezas,†Cid responded, holding up two fingers.
“Everyone always says two,†the officer laughed.
The officer was not really pulling Cid over, and Cid was not really drunk. The two of them, along with four additional police officers, were at the CHICLE Language Institute practicing scenarios that police encounter on a weekly basis in which knowing how to communicate in Spanish would improve their ability to help the community.
In a partnership between the Carrboro Police Department and CHICLE, Cid is teaching six police officers phrases and vocabulary in Spanish that they can use to communicate with Spanish-speaking residents on a daily basis.
“We’re trying to bridge the gap with our Latino community as far as communicating with them and understanding their culture more,†Capt. Cornell Lamb said.
In every class, Cid, a native Spanish-speaker from Mexico City who has been teaching at CHICLE for nine years, puts the officers in different situations where the victim or suspect knows little English or only speaks Spanish.
These situations include responding to domestic-violence calls, pulling someone over for speeding or being the first responder on a scene involving a hit-and-run.
“I give them scenarios where they can really use the phrases and the vocabulary and work on the pronunciations,†Cid said.
“We have a textbook, but it just lists words and they don’t tell the students how to apply it,†he added.
Although a majority of the 90-minute class is spent working on scenarios, sometimes it mirrors a typical high school or college language course as the officers repeat after the teacher and conjugate verbs on the board.
“¡En Español!†Cid commands when a student answers a question in English, usually causing the officer to panic and respond with what seems to be the class’ favorite phrase, “No se mueve,†meaning, “Do not move,†causing the class to erupt into laughter.
Lamb said he believes the course has really helped him with understanding the culture and the language, and the department is looking into making it a routine course.
“My confidence level as far as being able to communicate and gather information has improved,†he said.
“You don’t always know what situation you are going to walk into when you respond to a call, and we have such a diverse community in Carrboro where Spanish is one of the languages spoken.â€
Cid said that one of the best things about the police officers learning the language was that they would have the ability to help people in their native language, which is more reassuring.
“When someone communicates in your language, it means a lot,†Cid said.
While the course has taught the police officers a lot, Cid said he too has learned a great deal since they begin meeting back in November.
“Law-enforcement officers do tough work,†Cid said. “Many people think they just give tickets or fines, and the reality is there is something more beyond that – they are doing an important job in the community.â€