http://www.cnn.com/video/#/vid....cited.for.spanish.cnn
my dad would have gone bankrupt if he lived in darras, i mean dallas
my dad would have gone bankrupt if he lived in darras, i mean dallas
In Dallas, Tickets for Not Speaking English
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 24, 2009
DALLAS (AP) ? Dallas police officers have improperly cited drivers for not being able to speak English 38 times in the past three years, Chief David Kunkle said Friday.
The discovery came after a woman was pulled over earlier this month for making an illegal U-turn and was given a ticket for being a ?non-English-speaking driver.?
Chief Kunkle said the citations were disappointing for Dallas, a city where Hispanics make up 44 percent of the more than one million residents and where many other residents are Southeast Asian refugees.
?I was, I guess, surprised and stunned,? the chief said of the ticketing. ?We are a very diverse community.?
Chief Kunkle said his department?s computer system for citations had a pull-down menu that included a law requiring drivers of commercial vehicles to speak English. He said he believed that federal law had been misapplied to local drivers of private vehicles.
At least six officers wrote the citations, including one who wrote five of them, Chief Kunkle said at a news conference. The officers and their commanders are under investigation, and the Dallas police also plan to look beyond the last three years to see whether other citations turn up, he said.
On Oct. 2, Ernestina Mondragon was pulled over by Officer Gary Bromley, a rookie who was still under supervised training. Officer Bromley gave Ms. Mondragon a ticket for not speaking English, along with a citation for making an illegal U-turn and failing to carry her driver?s license.
?I wanted to tell him,? Ms. Mondragon said in Spanish on Friday. ?I couldn?t talk back to him out of respect.?
Ms. Mondragon was driving her 11-year-old daughter to school when Officer Bromley stopped her. She had forgotten her purse with her license in it while darting out the door that morning after her daughter missed the school bus.
?I felt humiliated, sad,? she said. ?I wanted to cry, but I couldn?t. The anger wouldn?t let me.?
During the exchange between her and the officer, Ms. Mondragon said, she had used the limited English words and phrases she knew.
?He asked me if I spoke English,? she said. ?I said I speak a little and understand it.?
Ms. Mondragon said court staff members had seemed puzzled by the charge. The court ultimately dismissed the ?non-English-speaking? ticket and driver?s license citation after Ms. Mondragon presented her license.
Chief Kunkle said the outcome of the other 37 citations for not speaking English was unclear.
Ms. Mondragon said that she had been surprised to hear that others were also cited and that she was glad she said something so the ticketing could stop. She said she and her family were considering a lawsuit.
From now on, the Dallas police will not give commercial drivers tickets for being unable to speak English, Chief Kunkle said, adding that was a job for other law enforcement agencies.
As part of their training, Dallas police recruits hear from various minorities in the city, Chief Kunkle said.
Texas offers the written part of its driver?s license test in Spanish, said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.
?I wanted to tell him,? Ms. Mondragon said in Spanish on Friday. ?I couldn?t talk back to him out of respect.?
Originally posted by: SunnyD
This is a repost. Link to be found later...
Originally posted by: UberNeuman
I once saw a dude who didn't speak English thrown off a dirigible, but it was because he had no ticket.
Originally posted by: biggestmuff
As long as they are handing out the tickets to the white folks using terms like "done did" and calling all sodas "pop", I don't have a problem with it.
Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
Land of the free
Chief Kunkle said his department?s computer system for citations had a pull-down menu that included a law requiring drivers of commercial vehicles to speak English. He said he believed that federal law had been misapplied to local drivers of private vehicles.
Originally posted by: biggestmuff
As long as they are handing out the tickets to the white folks using terms like "done did" and calling all sodas "cokes", I don't have a problem with it.
Originally posted by: v1001
That's how it should be. You should be able to answer the police officers questions when asked them.
Originally posted by: iGas
My dad got a ticket for not speaking fluent English but the ticket was thrown out of court, and the cop were scolded by the judge for being a bigot. The judge asked us if we wanted to lay charge, but my dad declined citing that he doesn't want to waste everyone precious time & money.
My dad got a ticket in Canuckistan (I was with my dad during the incident) as he didn't yield for a cop that ran a red light (copper car lights weren't flashing, and no siren). The Ahole cop gave my dad 3 points on the ticket and said, "this is an English speaking country learn how to talk", because my dad told the cop that he didn't do anything wrong in broken/thick accented English. During their dialog my dad asked for a printed French ticket and he were speaking in perfect Parisian French, and the law indicated that he could do so. Anyhow, I think my dad pissed off the ignoramus cop that was caught for not knowing 1 of the 2 Canadian official language.
PS. My dad read/write perfect Vietnamese/French/English, but his accent is very thick when it come to speaking English.
Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
Land of the free
Dallas police officers have improperly cited drivers...
Chief Kunkle said the citations were disappointing for Dallas...
The officers and their commanders are under investigation...
The court ultimately dismissed the ?non-English-speaking? ticket...
Dallas police also plan to look beyond the last three years to see whether other citations turn up...
Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
Land of the free
Originally posted by: iGas
Anyhow, I think my dad pissed off the ignoramus cop that was caught for not knowing 1 of the 2 Canadian official language.