Spanish-speaking officers rare in area - Iowa City (how about only 3)

Nowadays, Solis said he’s made it clear he’s happy to help out, as long as he’s already on duty. But he remains one of only three members of the Iowa City Police Department who speaks Spanish, and he’s not a sworn officer. Capt. Matt Johnson said officers Jeff Fink and Laura Wood, who work the evening and overnight shifts respectively, also are fluent. Johnson said Fink also teaches Spanish.

However, Johnson said having one bilingual officer during each shift is “not nearly enough.”

“We have run into more occasions where there is a need for an officer that is bilingual in the recent past than I can ever remember before,” Johnson said.”*

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