Williams Says He Will Take Spanish Class in Fall

Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams is returning to the classroom for courses he last studied three decades ago.

Saying the chief needs to be able to communicate with the people of Los Angeles, Williams told a meeting of about 50 Eastside residents Tuesday evening that he and his wife will begin a Spanish class in the fall.

“I have to set the tone for my own department,” he said, adding that he has not spoken or read Spanish since taking a high school class 30 years ago in Philadelphia.

The residents had invited Williams to the meeting at the Legal Aid Foundation’s East Los Angeles office to discuss their concerns with law enforcement. Williams said the department will undergo more extensive cultural sensitivity training and recruit more bilingual officers and dispatchers to respond to calls from the Latino and Asian communities.

“Cultural sensitivity is going to be right at the top of the list of what we’re going to do in this department,” he said. “It’s been made clear to me that there is a need to have this type of training from the chief on down.”

Recently, 200 officers in the Foothill Division swamped a Spanish immersion class that had been organized to accommodate only 50.