'To me, it’s not a burden’

When Iris Reyes was growing up, calling 911 wasn’t common.

In her life, she remembers her household calling for help from emergency services only three times. Her family handled most issues themselves.

“That was the philosophy I grew up with in my household,” Reyes said. “My parents were always afraid to call 911, and I don’t know why.”

In fact, just recently, Reyes' mother called her. She needed help but was afraid she wouldn’t be understood.

Reyes takes her personal experiences with her when she’s patrolling in Owatonna, as the city’s only bilingual police officer.

“I knew going into the department, I knew I was going to be female, I knew I was going to be Hispanic, and I knew I was going to be bilingual, and I think that's an incredibly big asset to the Owatonna Police Department,” said Reyes, who joined the department in September.

Building trust

With a daughter as a police officer, she said, her parents are beginning to move away from the notion that all cops are bad.

“That's just kind of nice to see that in them, that they feel that way,” Reyes said.

It's a perception she hopes to curb while she patrols in Owatonna. In a community with a growing Hispanic and Latino population, Reyes knows building trust with the community is vital.

“I don’t want people to have the perception that cops are bad, because not all of them are bad…especially for my family,” Reyes said.

But Reyes knows there is more to the problem than just bad actors. It’s communication.

When Reyes was a toddler, her parents moved the family back to Mexico. When she was six, the family moved back to Northfield, a place she didn’t know.

“I had to adjust to a different culture; I had to learn a new language,” Reyes said.

Reyes was considered an English as a Second Language learner. She did learn English in school, though it was a struggle. Reyes said she felt fortunate enough to learn at a young age, which made it somewhat easier.

As with her own mother, Reyes knows people may not call 911 altogether because of the fear that comes with not speaking the same language as the person on the other end of the line.

Reyes hopes to be able to curb the fear.

“Just building that trust in the community, that it's OK to call 911, and it's OK to speak up,” she said.

Translating options

Reyes explained when someone who calls 911 needs a translator, the dispatcher can use Language Line, an interpreting app, or Google Translate to help with the conversation.

While it can get the job done, Reyes said there are challenges, as Owatonna’s population “is very diverse.” Even among those who speak Spanish, there are many different dialects.

Having a police officer who looks like them and speaks their language is a major benefit.

“That brings a lot of trust in the community,” she said.

In fact, Reyes said she has already had people come up to her to say they are happy she showed up to a call. They felt comfortable with calling 911 “without feeling we won’t be understood or were going to get in trouble.”

Reyes has also become an invaluable asset for patrol. She has made clear to her partners, if there is a need for translation, and she is available, she will respond.

There are situations when it can be difficult to do the translation remotely–while trying to determine if a driver is impaired, for example.

“It's just very hard when you don’t have somebody there standing there showing you what to do,” she said.

She’s been utilized so much, her partners have even told her if she feels like she is becoming burned out to let them know.

Reyes doesn’t see it as an issue.

“To me, it's not a burden,” she said. “For me, it makes me feel like I’m doing something to help the Hispanic community and my partners in a really tough situation.”

Reyes said going to the calls, whether on her own, or for an assist, has also helped build connections with the Hispanic and Latino community.

Reyes explained that every time she goes to a call, and people don’t speak English, the first thing they say is, “hey I wasn’t going to call you guys, I was afraid to call you guys, but I’m kind of glad you guys showed up.”

Her advice: “If you want to call 911, you call us. We’re going to show up regardless of the situation.”