Officer becoming a familiar face — that's his mission

When Officer Ralph Wilson started his daily walks through a West Seattle middle school known by police for its group of troublemakers, students would whisper, demand why he was there or simply turn away.

But after four months of getting to know the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at Denny Middle School by name, Wilson has become a familiar face. Many students now smile and greet him as he strolls the halls, while teachers and administrators drag him into classrooms for interventions with difficult students, or pull him into corners for advice.

"The earlier you can intervene, the better chance you can rescue them from the dangers of the path they're on," Wilson said. "I've seen so many kids who were killed selling drugs, and nobody cares, they're just a drug dealer. There's some decent kids you meet, and they live in bad situations."

Wilson's duties aren't limited to the 650-student middle school. As the only Seattle Police officer specifically assigned to helping minority communities learn how to work closer with police, outreach groups and city service providers, Wilson's beat includes South Park and pockets of nearby West Seattle. The neighborhoods are home to large minority populations.

Instead of spending his days just responding to 911 calls, Wilson meets with community leaders, makes regular visits to Denny, and holds workshops and seminars on a variety of topics. Wilson doesn't speak Spanish, Somali or Vietnamese — the predominant languages of the communities he serves — so he often has interpreters in tow.

When Wilson returned to the police department's Southwest Precinct in January, after a 1 ½-year stint as a domestic-violence detective, the 21-year veteran was reassigned to a job created just for him.

"Ralph was an opportunity. He's got the connections," said Precinct Capt. Mike Fann. "It's kind of like an experiment. We basically gave him no job description, just told him to go out there."

South Park's population is about 50 percent Hispanic, and the Delridge neighborhood, which Wilson also works with, is about 25 percent Asian and 14 percent Hispanic, according to U.S. Census figures. Fann said police have a tough time winning the trust of residents because many immigrants are often reluctant to report crime.

While the call loads have remained steady, Fann is certain that domestic violence, crimes involving youths and property crimes are going unreported because some residents don't trust police.

"The Police Department is so reactionary, we don't do a lot to prevent crime," said Wilson, a 45-year-old father of five. "In this job, I can be a little more proactive in preventing crime by educating the public about domestic-violence laws."

Enrique Gonzalez, an administrative assistant at El Centro de la Raza, a Central Area nonprofit that works closely with the city's Hispanic communities, said the lack of trust stems from the fact that residents see local police as an extension of federal immigration agents.

"There are so many raids and so many different attitudes about immigration," Gonzalez said. "Anyone asking them what they're doing is very threatening. There's a huge level of distrust."

Also, many residents come from countries where police are often corrupt.

Not everyone is convinced that assigning Wilson to the area is the best plan.

Roberto Maestas, co-founder and executive director of El Centro de la Raza, said assigning Wilson to the neighborhood is "a terrible recipe for disaster."

"What the community needs, and has needed forever from police, is to have police act like they are interested in us, our culture, our history and our well-being," Maestas said. "What the community needs is genuine, cultured police officers who speak the language, who are preferably of our ethnic group and be patient with our people."

But Fann said very few officers with the department are bilingual. He said sending officers to language school would be expensive and time-consuming.

"The Hispanic community, like every other non-English-speaking community, would like people who speak their language," Fann said. "But it's not reasonable."

Leticia Clausen, a Denny Middle School humanities teacher who has been volunteering in South Park the past 20 years, said having Wilson inside the school helps students not only grow accustomed to seeing the uniform but also grow familiar with the fact he's not there to deport them.

"It's so important for them to see a Caucasian police officer they can build a relationship with them," Clausen said. "They need to see the police as being there to protect you, not bust you."

Wilson is working in conjunction with a nearly two-year, $2 million effort to make South Park safer and cleaner. Under the South Park Action Agenda, the city is developing more neighborhood youth activities, increasing open space, improving the health of the Duwamish River and replacing the South Park bridge.

"It's a small community with very basic needs: They don't have a post office, they don't have a bank, they don't have a grocery store," said Claudia Arana, an employee of the mayor's office assigned to the South Park Action Agenda. "We need to focus on youth and family issues down there."

Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report. Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com