Hispanic advisory board 'knocking down some barriers' in Wichita

Growing up in Wichita, Angel Martinez knew you weren't supposed to talk to the police.

Older residents of Hispanic neighborhoods didn't trust law enforcement officers, convinced they were no different than the frequently corrupt officers they or relatives encountered in Mexico. And younger residents commonly viewed the police as the enemy.

"A lot of the kids come from single parent homes," Martinez said. "Their big brothers are in a gang, they might even see drug activity in their home. It was a 'Don't talk to the police -- don't snitch' deal."

Martinez knows because he was one of those kids once. He used to belong to a gang.

But over the past year or more, he's noticed a substantial shift in Wichita's Hispanic neighborhoods, thanks to the work of the Hispanic Advisory Board. The board was established in the fall of 2016.

"The goal is to help us build a stronger relationship with the Hispanic community," Chief Gordon Ramsay said. "When we solve crime, it’s people openly, willingly providing us with information.

"If there's that lack of trust that exists, we won't be as successful," Ramsay said. "Our goal is really to move ahead and beyond issues of the past, building productive relationships and making it a better community for everybody."

In many ways, Officer Paul Cruz said, it's too soon to measure the impact in tangible ways.

But he said he's noticed "a drastic change" in relationships over the past year. Members of the advisory board say they can readily see improvements as well.

"There's a lot more openness and willingness to speak with police" now, Martinez said. "The comfort level has just really grown.

"There's not that big elephant in the room when they see the police come in... We're knocking down some barriers there."

The board keeps police officials apprised of issues in the Hispanic community and helps inform residents of police initiatives. Board members also help choose which applicants are approved for the police academy and which candidates in the department earn promotions.

"They’ve made themselves very accessible, affable and transparent," the Rev. Eric Weldon, the pastor at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in south Wichita, said of police officials.

The parish is about 80 percent Hispanic, Weldon said, and fear and confusion have become common in recent years.

"They are at the (local) meetings," Weldon said. "They understand the sensitivities of the Hispanic community. They dispel the rumors and clarify it with the clear mission of the police."

Along with attending numerous events and meetings in the Hispanic community, Wichita police officials provide weekday media briefings in Spanish and have set up a Spanish Facebook page.

Claudia Amaro, who has a weekly Spanish radio show and is also a board member, said people come up to her all the time with questions about the police or what to do in certain situations.

"There still is a big trust issue," Amaro said. "There used to be a lot of confusion. For immigrants, everyone was the police."

To them, a badge was a badge. They didn't differentiate between the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and a sheriff's deputy or police officer.

"There's a huge difference" between the agencies, Amaro said, "and now they're starting to realize that."

One difference, she said, is Wichita police won't detain an undocumented resident after pulling them over for a traffic ticket.

Weldon and others singled out Cruz's tireless efforts to build relationships and seek opinions from residents.

"They want the community to know that they care," Weldon said of police officials.

Cities around the state with significant Hispanic populations have asked Wichita officials "to show them what we're doing so they can do it, too," Cruz said.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Hispanic advisory board 'knocking down some barriers' in Wichita."