Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission discusses Safe Kids car-seat event, recruiting bilingual officers for TPD
Summary
At its October meeting the Greater Tulsa Area Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission discussed partnering on a Safe Kids car-seat event set for Nov. 11 and urged efforts to recruit more bilingual officers after noting about 75 Tulsa Police Department officers speak Spanish — under 10% of the force.
At its October meeting, the Greater Tulsa Area Hispanic Latinx Affairs Commission’s public safety committee discussed collaborating with Safe Kids for a Spanish-language car-seat event and pressed local agencies on recruiting more bilingual police officers.
Commissioners heard that Safe Kids will host a car-seat training and distribution event aimed at Spanish-speaking families on Nov. 11 at Fire Station 27, identified in the meeting as “Station 27” on First Street. The commission’s public safety discussion also covered Red Ribbon Week outreach in local schools beginning Oct. 24 and other community safety fairs where the commission plans outreach.
The group emphasized recruitment and retention challenges across local public-safety agencies and flagged language capacity as a specific gap. Meeting participants said the department has “somewhere in the area of 75 officers on the department that speak Spanish,” and noted that figure represents under 10% of the department, a share they said is low given Tulsa’s growing Hispanic population. Commissioners discussed whether expanding a departmental language stipend could support recruitment of Spanish-speaking officers.
Speakers described the Nov. 11 Safe Kids event as a registration-based program that includes a class and provides car seats to participating families; volunteers from Tulsa Fire Department, Tulsa Police Department and EMSA are expected to participate. Committee members said the event is intended not only to improve child passenger safety but also to foster positive interactions between families and public-safety personnel.
The committee reported plans to coordinate with city communications and public-health staff already invited to the committee, including Maria Sepulveda (City of Tulsa communications), Jessica Rice (Tulsa Health Department epidemiology) and Beth Washington (Safe Kids of Tulsa). The committee said Chief Jose Ariza, deputy fire marshal for the Tulsa Fire Department, accepted an invitation to participate in future committee meetings.
Commissioners said the public-safety committee will meet monthly on the first Thursday at 11 a.m. (virtually) and will publish agendas in advance to allow community members and partner agencies to prepare.
The commission did not take a formal vote on policy at this meeting; discussion items were planning and outreach-oriented.
