Keeping Your Officers and Your Communities Safe: Optimizing Communication with Non-English Speakers

Monday, October 21, 2024

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET

Location: 252AB

Submitter(s)

AR

Anisa Rahim

Trial Attorney
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Submitter and Speaker(s)

BV

Bharathi Venkatraman

Attorney and USAO Coordinator
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Speaker(s)

TG

Trent Glosson

United Chief for the Language Services Section
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Sharon Seward

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Stacy Schantz

Sergeant
Denver (CO) Police Department

An officer was indicted and prosecuted for excessive use of force as a result of contact with a grandfather who did not speak English or officer commands and suffered a paralyzing injury. Incidents such as these are tragic and costly. Many officers interact with communities where English is not the first language. Understanding how to respond during these encounters promotes safety for everyone involved. This interactive panel, created by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Law Enforcement Language Access Initiative (LELAI), with speakers from DOJ's Civil Rights Division, including a former prosecutor of human trafficking and a Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) linguist, will provide key information to enhance communication and ensure compliance with federal civil rights laws.