"Survival Spanish" ®

The Realism Perspective

                                              by Robert L. Dent

Senior Trooper, Oregon State Police (Ret.)  

There is a widely recognized need, among law enforcement officers, for the ability to communicate with Spanish speaking people under a wide variety of circumstances while promoting officer safety.  Sometimes these circumstances are life threatening, not only to the officer, but to the suspect or even the law-abiding citizen.  Officers often confront this need on a daily basis. 

Furthermore, this involves the largest growing segment of our society and officers face the potential for tragic misunderstandings when dealing with Spanish speaking people.  The learning of simple basic words that are easily recalled through “Dynamic Memory Channeling©”, cognitive shortcuts, and realistic experiential training exercises can reduce those tragic possibilities dramatically.  Too often, officers are only given Spanish language training that involves tedious sentence structure and verb conjugation, which is quickly forgotten under stressful situations.  Law enforcement officers and other first responders are pragmatists who want what works without the superfluous…simply put “Give me the tools to get the job done and cut out the unnecessary”.  Furthermore, not all personnel have the desire, aptitude, or time to become fluent in Spanish.

 The language barrier has long separated public safety personnel from basic communication with Hispanic people, a barrier that sometimes threatens or costs a life.  All too often it has, and will, cost the life of an officer who has received no training in simple, basic "Survival Spanish7”.  The term "Survival Spanish7" encompasses a broad spectrum and gives the ability to:  

! Promote officer safety, improve community relations, and provide an effective, simple method of communicating without be fluent.

! Commit to memory basic, succinct commands and phrases that can make the difference between a simple arrest and a deadly confrontation.  This ability provides the officer with the unique tools to gain control of situations where he or she has never had control before.

! Communicate in a basic polite manner in order to elicit co-operation and respect while diffusing a potentially dangerous situation.

! Make all involved persons aware, through actions and speech, that the officer is fair and impartial.  It can be very frustrating for an officer to carry out a professional investigation if his communication or attitude is misinterpreted by the victim, witness, or suspect.  

Ongoing training is crucial to learn about differing cultural perspectives.  Understanding these perspectives can enhance the officer's personal safety during escalation of any tensions.  Remember, that actions speak louder than words and sometimes say the wrong things.  Officers should learn the “Silent Signals” of cultural diversity and be aware of what their body language is saying.  Learning these signals will also help interpret the body language of the person being contacted.  

Each day, officers who are not properly trained, lose court cases because they have failed to properly advise a person of their rights or ask for consent to search as mandated by law or departmental policies.  Officers through no fault of their own, often cannot communicate at a basic level with victims to obtain timely information, therefore criminal suspects go free.  Paramedics cannot ask accident victims where they are injured, and officers are injured or killed because they cannot effectively communicate with Spanish speakers even at a basic “survival” level.  

It is not uncommon for an administrator to say their agency has a Spanish speaking police officer available to translate for a non-Spanish speaking officer if they need one.  If one is not available, one can be called to the scene or a telephone translation service can be used.  Common sense dictates that the officer in the field cannot wait for a Spanish speaking officer to arrive to command the suspect to: Drop the gun!  Put your hands up!, Don't move!, etc.  Nor can he wait to tell an accident victim not to move or to point to where he is injured.  Each officer needs to have the basic capability of “survival communication”.  The frequent misconception that having Spanish-speaking officers available is not a viable solution to the problem…adequate training is.  

Furthermore, there is a need to properly train police officers to recognize and interpret the slang, profanities, and non-verbal signals used by the Hispanic criminal element.  The use of profanity and body gesturing is often an early warning indicator or "RED FLAG" that the encounter is progressing beyond the bounds of polite conversation.  An officer should and must be aware of such a progression.  Any officer working in a bilingual setting should be able to listen and recognize both verbal and non-verbal communication that put their safety or that of their co-workers safety in jeopardy.   

Additionally, officers should be aware of the “silent communication” of tattoos.  Often knowing the meaning of the tattoo can be a wealth of information that will enhance officer safety.  Frequently, the tattoo can be a “Red Flag” of potential violence that can be an indicator of disrespect for the law enforcement officer but a “badge of honor” for the criminal wearing it.  Officers must remember that the slang, profanities, and non-verbal signaling used by the criminal element are ever changing.  The need is to provide frequent updated training to stay abreast of the street vernacular is of paramount importance to officer safety.    

These words/phrases are used to disguise their verbal messages and are intended as a secret communication intended for their own kind to warn an accomplice of impending discovery, danger, or action anticipated by the officer that will affect their freedom.  Many are pre-attack verbal cues such as:

Aguas    (Officer is in deep water…or trouble)

(AH-goo-ahs)

Lit:--waters

 

Tumba                   (Slang for Heroin or the officer

(TOOM-bah)         will be killed) Lit:  tomb

 

Madre, en la                         (Kill him.  Send the cop back (MAH-dreh, en lah)         i
nto his mother's womb)  Lit:  in the mother

 

Sumele                  (To stab the officer)

(SOO-meh-leh)    Slang for: stick it in

 

Sofoque

(soh-FOH-keh)

Slang for: A stupid person

In Tex-Mex used for dummy / crazy person.

(Often referred to as a police officer)

 

Sacale los pedos

(SAH-kah-leh  lohs  PEH-dohs)

Lit:  Let his gas out

(Terrify or scare the officer; or to kill with a knife or gun)

 

Azules

(ah-SOO-lehs)

Lit:  the ones in blue

Other slangs for police include: Chota, Placa, Narco,  La Jura, Capiro

 

Jale        (Slang for the stuff/thing/contraband)

(HAH-leh)

 

Escupe  (Slang for rifle or shotgun)

(ess-KOO-peh)

Lit:  to spit   (a shotgun spits fire)

 

Cohuete                Slang for:  firearm

(KOH-et-eh)  (Also used by the Crips and Bloods)

Lit:  rocket/firecracker

(Fierro, like the car, is older term for firearm  Lit: Iron)

 

La pica                                  Slang for:  knife

(lah  PEE-kah)

 

Bronca  Slang for:  bad situa­tion/problem

(brohn-KAH)

 

Pinta                                      Pinto

(PEEN-tah)                            (PEEN-toh)           

Slang for prison                   (Slang for ex-convict

(Excerpts from "The Complete Survival Spanish Field Reference Manual for Public Safety Professionals8" 6-C Ed.