Thread: Highway Patrol Reaches Out To Latino Drivers

http://www.nbc17.com/news/6004130/detail.html

Highway Patrol Reaches Out To Latino Drivers

POSTED: 2:38 pm EST January 11, 2006
UPDATED: 2:46 pm EST January 11, 2006

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A bilingual state trooper is trying to bridge the gap between the North Carolina Highway Patrol and Hispanic drivers.

Trooper Jorge Brewer, the Highway Patrol's first Hispanic liaison, is charged with reaching out to Latino groups statewide, such as El Pueblo in the Triangle.

"Everyone wants people to abide by the laws, but if you don't teach them, then they don't know," said Tony Asion, of El Pueblo.

Although more troopers are learning Spanish, the language barrier remains a problem for law enforcement, and many Hispanic drivers are unaware of license rules and how to protect young passengers, Brewer said.

"Most of our people come from countries where police abuse their power, and they expect that to happen here. They're intimidated, and when you add that to the language barrier, we have problems," he said.

Brewer, a 10-year veteran of the Highway Patrol who also worked for the Raleigh Police Department for three years, said his first priority is educating Hispanic drivers about drunken driving laws.

"Hispanics are dying at a disproportionate rate on our highways. We've got to do something about that," he said.

El Pueblo is working with the Highway Patrol and the Mexican consulate on an advertising campaign to raise awareness about drunken driving among Hispanic motorists.

"We have drinking and driving laws, but they aren't really enforced and a lot of people get away with it and don't see a problem with drinking and driving," said Consuela Ornelas, deputy consul of Mexico.

Brewer, a 10-year veteran of the Highway Patrol who also worked for the Raleigh Police Department for three years, said his first priority is educating Hispanic drivers about drunken driving laws.

Why in the he!! should it be the responsibility of the Highway Patrol to "educate" these people about drunk driving? Why do the taxpayers have to pay for interrupters. Will they soon have a trooper & an interrupter in every patrol car?

"Hispanics are dying at a disproportionate rate on our highways. We've got to do something about that," he said.

Brewer should be more concerned about the US citizens dying on our highways. After all, we're the ones paying his salary aren't we?

"We have drinking and driving laws, but they aren't really enforced and a lot of people get away with it and don't see a problem with drinking and driving," said Consuela Ornelas, deputy consul of Mexico.

No duh Mr deputy consul of Mexico! I believe I've read that somewhere before.

IF THEY WOULD DEPORT EVERY DRUNK DRIVING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT, THE WORD WOULD GET AROUND FASTER THAN THE "EDUCATION".

I hope I never read the name El Pueblo again. The mere sight of these 2 words gags me.

Trooper Jorge Brewer, the Highway Patrol's first Hispanic liaison, is charged with reaching out to Latino groups statewide, such as El Pueblo in the Triangle.

I wonder if he gets a salary incentive for being bi-lingual? With the problems with traffic enforcement and accidents, I can't see taking a trooper off the road for something like this.

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/387988.html

Hispanic officers hired as liaisons
Effort grows to close language, cultural divide

Mandy Locke, Staff Writer
The Johnston County Sheriff's Department and the state Highway Patrol have hired special officers to try to reach out to the growing Hispanic community.

They are the latest law enforcement agencies in North Carolina trying to scale the culture and language barriers between them and the largest immigrant population. Statewide, Hispanics number more than a half-million, accounting for about 6 percent of North Carolina residents, according to U.S. Census data.

"It's a matter of trust," said Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell, who hired a deputy this month to help the department communicate with Hispanic residents. "If I can't speak to them, they don't trust me."

About 15,000 Hispanics make their home in Johnston County alone, about 10 percent of the county's population. That's up from 9,440 in 2000.

Until now, only one of the 98 deputies in Bizzell's department spoke Spanish well enough to translate competently.

That hampered a murder investigation last January involving a Hispanic victim, when the sheriff had to hire an interpreter.

Manuel "Chico" Cruz, whose parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico before he was born, will help Johnston deputies translate during investigations. A retired instructor at the state's Justice Academy, Cruz is also in charge of courtroom security in Johnston County. Soon, Cruz will begin translating official documents into Spanish and training deputies on cultural differences.

That training makes all the difference, said state Trooper Jorge Brewer, a native Puerto Rican and one of six Spanish-speaking troopers on a force of 2,500. Brewer, who has been a member of the Highway Patrol for 11 years, just became the patrol's first Hispanic liaison.

"Most Hispanic people think law enforcement is corrupt," Brewer said. He explained that many Hispanic immigrants fear that police will ask them for bribes to avoid tickets. "We've got to deal with their cultural shock."

Brewer has started appearing on Spanish-speaking radio stations and in newspapers urging Hispanics to not drink and drive, to wear seat belts and to follow traffic laws. Though Hispanics make up only 6 percent of the population statewide, a disproportionate number of them die in alcohol-related accidents and are cited for drunken driving.

According to the state Highway Patrol, troopers issued 16,199 tickets for driving while impaired to Hispanic drivers between January 2002 through May 2005, nearly 18 percent of all DWIs issued during that period.

Of the 586 alcohol-related fatalities that the patrol investigated during that period, 15 percent of the victims were Hispanic.

Bizzell said that adding a deputy like Cruz is long overdue.

He dismisses any criticism that he is catering to people that may be breaking the law with their mere presence in North Carolina.

Bizzell said only a small number of Hispanics cause trouble and ought to be targeted by immigration officials. Most, he said, want to be productive citizens and deserve to be helped. "We can't lump everyone together," he said.

(News researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report.)

Staff writer Mandy Locke can be reached at 829-8927 or mandy.locke@newsobserver.com.

QUOTE:
El Pueblo is working with the Highway Patrol and the Mexican consulate on an advertising campaign to raise awareness about drunken driving among Hispanic motorists.

"We have drinking and driving laws, but they aren't really enforced and a lot of people get away with it and don't see a problem with drinking and driving," said Consuela Ornelas, deputy consul of Mexico.

Oh, so let's treat them with utmost "kindness" and give them a coloring book to color about what happens when people drink and drive !!

That's going to just warm the heart of an American who has lost a loved one because they think they can drive drunk here the way they can there.

Way to go, boys. Be careful now. Don't want to hurt anyone's feelings!!
We're only talking about life and death.