Altadena : Help for Spanish Speakers

Responding to complaints about a language barrier in emergency calls, a sheriff’s deputy told the Town Council on Tuesday that measures have been taken to ensure Spanish-speaking callers are helped.

Deputy Daniel Connolly said English-Spanish instructions with phonetic Spanish spellings have been posted at the Altadena sheriff’s station. All deputies will now be able to say, “I don’t speak Spanish” and “call 911.”

When the caller dials 911, Connolly said, an automatic 24-hour transfer service will connect the deputy to an interpreter. He said interpreters of Spanish and other languages are also available to field personnel.

In addition, Connolly said, instructions written in Spanish on how to use the telephone in an emergency will be distributed to all Altadena apartment residents. Included will be information on how the Altadena station handles Spanish-language calls.