For the next 15 weeks, members of the Hispanic community in Montgomery County can learn what it’s like to be a police officer.
Participants learn the job while interacting with officers, which can be scary or difficult for some Latinos.
“Maybe they’re, like, ‘They might ask me about immigration,’ or something like that, but Montgomery County is a sanctuary state, and police are not allowed,” MCPD Hispanic Community Academy coordinator Adriana Sanchez said.
She said participants learn conflict negotiation techniques and emergency response training and receive presentations on difficult topics like domestic violence.
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“They can help us, and we can help them,” former participant Patricia Buenrostro said.
The academy taught her life-saving information, she said.
“How can I call 911 and how to tell them, because sometimes we are nervous and we just say, ‘Help, help, help,’ and that’s not enough for them,” she said.
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The officers practice Spanish and develop relationships with people they might not always interact with.
“Building that trust is essential for the community and the police to be able to work together and to actually get something good out of it,” Sanchez said.
The academy is free and available to county residents 18 and older. Classes start May 17.
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