Positive Step for LAPD
The recent news regarding the LAPD seems to be related to police brutality, the insensitivity of its chief, and the ineffective operational response during the South-Central Los Angeles rebellion. That is why a recent report (“Foothill Police Begin Language Lessons,” Times Valley Edition, June 2) represents a very positive development for the LAPD and the community.
The Foothill Division, which is located in Pacoima, has jurisdiction over an area with a large number of Spanish-speaking residents. Spanish classes for police officers are in the spirit of the recommendations of the Christopher Commission, which suggested the need to reform a Police Department known for its emphasis on militaristic tactics rather than a community-based approach.
Police officers learning Spanish represent an effort to reach an ethnic minority that many times has been ignored by institutions of society. It is also a pragmatic answer to the potentially dangerous barrier of silence and misunderstanding which sometimes develops when a police officer responds to an emergency involving Spanish-speakers.
NESTOR FANTINI, Van Nuys
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