We've heard a lot lately about the relationship between the police and the community. There's been debate about what's wrong with it, and what can make it better.
In some neighborhoods of New Orleans language remains a barrier between officers and the people they're tasked to protect. As the NOPD is trying to find as many recruits as possible, it's also trying to find recruits that can help bridge cultural divides.
Kevin Nguyen is 21-year old police recruit. He is one of nearly 40 recruits working to become members of the New Orleans Police Department. Only a handful can speak a second language. Nguyen is able to communicate in English and Vietnamese.
In another corner are Brandon Anderson, Daniel Berrincha and John Cabral. Each are fluent in English and Spanish. Out of the roughly 1,100 commissioned officers, only are eight are certified in a second language, and that's Spanish. Both the Hispanic and Asian populations in Orleans Parish have grown since Hurricane Katrina. The NOPD could use a recruit like Nguyen. His desire is to work in New Orleans East, where the Vietnamese American population is substantial.
"It's my family, my family is here, my friends are here. That's the most important thing," said Nguyen.
Following the Vietnam war, and certainly after the fall of Saigon in 1975, thousands of Vietnamese refugees settled here in New Orleans East. With jobs in fishing and shrimping readily available, they were quick to work but perhaps slow to pick up the English language. Even today, language can present a problem for police when they respond to calls for help here.
"It's real hard, I remember one time my grandmother's home got shot up. She's still first generation. She called the police. She had nobody to talk to at the time because her English isn't great. We had to wait for my uncle to come out to talk them and it took forever," said Nguyen.
We sat down with Nguyen at Pho Bang, where big vats of brother simmer all day. It's what gives the traditional beef noodle soup all its flavor. Yen Vu is the owner. He says there's often confusion for the old generation when trying to report crimes and speaking with police.
"Sometimes they it's very hard for communication with the police. White or black, they (Vietnamese American residents) don't understand what they say. Everything they say is yes, yes, yes and sometimes they're scared too, but we need people," said Vu.
Proficiency in both languages alone won't make Nguyen a good officer. As we witnessed in Dallas and then in Baton Rouge, wearing the badge is increasingly becoming a calling than just a job. The murders of police officers is not deterring Nguyen.
"It actually motivated me actually to go through it even more. I see other officers and deputies as my brother, it's like family members," said Nguyen.
His own family though has reservations about his career choice. Nguyen says his mother and uncles have always wanted him to pursue more "practical" jobs. He says there has been steady pressure for him to be a pharmacist. Nguyen says his mother worries the most.
"She worries all the time. She tells my sister all the time to tell me to quit, but you know she doesn't want to tell me in front of my face because she knows this is something I want to do and it's like my calling," said Nguyen.
Nguyen has already served in the Louisiana National Guard. He says he now wants to serve his city and the community which is so familiar to him. At a time when the NOPD is struggling to fill its ranks, a bilingual recruit can be an asset.
"It certainly would be helpful to be able to bridge that language gap, to some extent to some of these other cultures. It certainly would be a help, it's not like we have a lot of those officers, so whatever we can get would be helpful at this point," said Michael Glasser .
Glasser is a veteran of the NOPD and also the head of the Police Association of
New Orleans. He says while having a more diverse police department can help with community policing, he says finding a diverse officers is less important than finding an effective one.
"We're looking for good candidates no matter where they come from. We're not concerned what their background is, other than it's background of good character," said Glasser.
At a time when police encounter with the public are under intense scrutiny, having officers of character may be able to improve relations with the people they've sworn to protect. That role of protector is one Nguyen believes he ready to take on.
"It's a higher risk and low reward, but I'd rather risk my life to help somebody than sit back and watch people get killed," said Nguyen.
The NOPD launched a team of bilingual officers earlier this year. They're of course looking for more officers.
There is monetary incentive. Certified bilingual officers can earn a five percent pay increase if they use their language skills on the job.