24th Precinct P.O. Jessenia Guzman NYPD officer reprimanded for briefly speaking Spanish under little-known department rule Police Officer Jessenia Guzman said she was written up after speaking a single Spanish sentence. The NYPD has defended the policy. By Jennifer Fermino — Monday, June 24th, 2013 ‘The New York Daily News’ NOTE TO COPS: No se habla español aqui! An NYPD officer was issued a “memo of reprimand” after she was caught speaking Spanish while on duty — a violation of an English-only workplace rule for city cops, the Daily News has learned. Police Officer Jessenia Guzman, a Bronx native with a bloodline to the Dominican Republic, says she was written up on May 14 for uttering a single sentence in Spanish. Guzman, 40, was working the switchboard at the 24th Precinct stationhouse on the upper West Side when she ran afoul of the little-known rule. “It was just natural,” Guzman said, recalling the brief interaction with a colleague. “She walked by. She was going to get coffee. She said something. I responded (in Spanish). That was it.” It seemed so inconsequential that she said she doesn’t even remember what the brief exchange was about. Hours later, Guzman was called into a supervisor’s office and given the reprimand. It said she was “required to communicate department business in the language of English,” according to a copy obtained by The News. “This policy is in place to allow proper supervision of personnel,” the memo signed by Lt. Richard Khalaf read. The NYPD — which routinely touts the diversity of its force — defended the policy on Sunday. “We’re a 24/7 operation,” said Inspector Kim Royster, an NYPD spokeswoman. “We should be speaking one voice, which is English.” One in three NYPD officers is Hispanic. Police officials say there’s been a surge in foreign-born recruits in recent years, with one in five coming from countries outside the United States. More than 50 languages are spoken by NYPD employees. The English-only reprimand will remain in Guzman’s personnel file for the remainder of her NYPD career. She’s been on the force 13 years.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 10:25:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015