The Senate of Texas passed a resolution to commend Detective Johnny Santana of the Beeville Police Department for his contributions to the Complete Spanish Field Reference Manual for Public Safety Officers. Detective Santana contributed pages on Hispanic street and prison gangs as well as Spanish slang phrases used in the Tex-Mex dialect. As a native Mexican who traveled extensively, Detective Santana learned this dialect spoken by pachuco gangs. He believes the manual will save officers' lives by helping them communicate with Spanish-speaking suspects. The resolution expresses admiration for Detective Santana sharing his knowledge with fellow officers.

1. S.R. No. 556
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is proud to
commend Detective Johnny Santana of the Beeville Police Department
for his invaluable contributions to the Complete Spanish Field
Reference Manual for Public Safety Officers; and
WHEREAS, In its third edition, the manual is the first
pocket-size encyclopedia of information on Hispanic language and
culture; and
WHEREAS, Use of the 152-page book has spread throughout
the nation and is being adopted as an official handbook by police
agencies everywhere; and
WHEREAS, Robert L. Dent, a senior trooper with the Oregon
State Police, compiled the manual several years ago so law
enforcement officers throughout the United States could communicate
with Spanish-speaking witnesses, victims, and suspects; and
WHEREAS, At the request of Officer Dent, who heard of
Officer Santana through a mutual friend, Johnny Santana contributed
seven pages of information to the manual, including names of Hispanic
street and prison gangs and six pages of slang phrases used in the
Spanish dialect the detective calls "Cholo" or Tex-Mex; and
WHEREAS, A native-born Mexican, Johnny Santana travelled
extensively with his family and learned the Cholo dialect, or slang,
spoken by the pachuco gangs; and
WHEREAS, As a student at Teresa de Avila parochial college
in Ciudad Juarez, Johnny Santana began to appreciate the academic
discipline that taught him the importance of learning to read and
write some of the languages and customs of people he had known;
his teachers taught him to listen to different languages as well
as the different accents found in all languages; and

2. WHEREAS, Detective Santana firmly believes the manual will
be a valuable tool that will save the lives of police personnel
when they become involved in potentially dangerous situations with
Spanish-speaking suspects; and
WHEREAS, The safety of our nation's police officers is of
grave concern to all of us and their protection in the line of duty
is of utmost importance; the information compiled in the
Complete Spanish Field Reference Manual for Public Safety Officers
will serve as an important instrument for officers in Texas as well
as across the United States; now, therefore, be it

3. RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
73rd Legislature, hereby commend Detective Johnny Santana of
the Beeville Police Department for sharing his knowledge with
his fellow officers; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for
the esteemed individual as an expression of the admiration and
respect of the Texas Senate.
Truan
Armbrister
Barrientos
Bivins
Brown
Carriker
Ellis
Haley
Harris of Dallas
Harris of Tarrant
Henderson
Leedom
Lucio
Luna
Madla
Moncrief
Montford
Nelson
Parker
Patterson
Ratliff
Rosson
Shapiro
Shelley
Sibley
Sims
Turner
Wentworth
West
Whitmire
Zaffirini
Bullock, President of the Senate

4. _____________________________________
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on April 6, 1993.
_____________________________________
Secretary of the Senate
_____________________________________
Member, Texas Senate