Cops getting 'crash course' in Spanish

FORSYTH - When a young Mexican man was murdered in Warner Robins more than a year ago, several men knew who the killer were afraid to go to the police.<br> <br> Instead they talked to Mary Boyd, a bilingual woman of Mexican descent who ran a store catering to Hispanics. It was Boyd who helped detectives identify a murder suspect in the August 2003 killing. Warner Robins Police said they&#39;d never have cracked the case without a Spanish speaker who could talk comfortably with immigrants who fear American police.<br> <br> Across Georgia, where the Hispanic population jumped more than 300 percent in the 1990s, police are scrambling for more Spanish speakers. There&#39;s a long waiting list for the ``Survival Spanish&#39;&#39; class at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth.<br> <br> Officers get enough Spanish to get the job done, said instructor Carlos Ortiz, who is the son of Cuban immigrants.<br> <br> The Survival Spanish class teaches a number of phrases useful in law enforcement, then pits officers with Spanish-speaking actors in a role-playing exercise. The course also teaches officers how to render aid and assist victims.<br> <br> In the mock village on the training center campus, students gathered earlier this year at the corner of Dangerous Boulevard and Hay Street for a law-enforcement language lesson in reality.<br> <br> Cochran police officer Andrew Lemmon held a clipboard full of Spanish phrases in one hand and a police radio mouthpiece in the other.<br> <br> In this exercise, Lemmon had pulled Ortiz over and had to conduct the entire traffic stop in Spanish.<br> <br> As he hesitantly spoke into the public address system, Ortiz told him to take his time.<br> <br> ``What&#39;s the nonverbal gesture to get me to turn around?&#39;&#39; Ortiz asked. ``Remember 65 percent of communication is with the non-spoken word.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Lemmon has been a member of the Cochran police force for more than 25 years. He finds the language barrier challenging.<br> <br> ``I remember a time even 10 years ago when you didn&#39;t see any Hispanics in Cochran at all,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It&#39;s good to have that verbal communication because a lot of times they really don&#39;t understand the English language and you just have to adapt and help them understand.&#39;&#39;