BOZEMAN — Imagine this: You get pulled over, the officer walks up, and they don't speak the same language as you. That could be confusing, right? And it’s actually an issue on the rise here in Gallatin County. So, let's see what the Sheriff's Office has been doing about it.
Watch the story here:
“Last year I made about 450 traffic stops,” Garrett Paakkonen tells me.
For the last two years, Paakkonen has served as a deputy sheriff for the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office. He tells me he mostly works in the West Yellowstone community.
“So, I’m encountering tourists visiting the park on a daily basis. With that, it’s Spanish speakers, Mandarin, Chinese, the list goes on and on," says Paakkonen.
For Paakkonen, who only speaks English?
“It’s definitely difficult. Especially when the driver might be exhibiting dangerous driving behaviors. It’s very hard to kind of convey, not only did they break a law, but they put other people's lives in danger."
Paakkonen tells me during these traffic stops, he typically uses a system called Montana Language Services that allows officers to call translators.
“If that's not an option, I also have a pocket translator that I utilize, which has been very helpful. I usually just have the individual select the language that they speak and then we go from there."
But translators aren’t always the most reliable. And this issue isn’t only happening in West Yellowstone.
“Our community is growing. And it’s growing in diversity as well. We have people from all over the world that want to visit and reside here and work here in Gallatin County,” says Michael Van Meter.
Van Meter is a Sergeant with the Sheriff's Office. Earlier this year, he and a team reached out to KBZK, seeking assistance with an issue they’ve seen on the rise: people not understanding the rules of the road due to language barriers. Their solution? Create public service announcements, or PSAs, in different languages.
“So, we’re looking to not only tell people how to react but also show them visually. To best educate them as far as how to safely proceed and keep everyone safe on the road,” Van Meter says.
I spent a day with a team from the Sheriff's Office, filming three PSAs: one to explain what to do when you see emergency lights, another walking you through what to do if you get pulled over, and a third explaining what to do if you get a citation.
“We see people speeding pretty regularly, we see people not stopping at stop signs, we see people passing on double yellows. And as an agency, it’s not really our intent to jam people up and write citations. Our job is to educate,” Paakkonen tells me.
For now, these videos have only been made for the Spanish-speaking community in Gallatin County. But Paakkonen tells me if the PSAs are successful, he hopes to make more, in different languages.
“I think it will be great. Any time our society can have the opportunity to watch versus read. It makes things a little bit easier. So, having these resources available to the different people coming into our community is going to be very helpful,” he says.
If you’re interested, these videos will soon be posted on Gallatin County Sheriff's Office website and social media platforms.
