Santa Maria Police Officer Mario Martinez is bringing a unique voice to local law enforcement, one that speaks directly to a community often overlooked.
Martinez, who has been with the department for about three years, is the only officer who speaks Mixteco, an Indigenous language from Oaxaca, Mexico.
For families who feel hesitant to call the police because of language barriers, Martinez says he's seen how his presence can make a difference.
“When I first started working over here, there was a call I remember I went to, and the guy was kind of, like, struggling to speak Spanish. So I get there, and then I start speaking Mixteco to him. And then he [was] just kind of, like, shocked, you know, like he didn’t believe it in a way,” Officer Martinez explained.
Born in Arizona, Martinez’s early years were spent in Oaxaca, where his parents raised him and his nine siblings. The family moved to California in 2005. Growing up, Martinez spoke Mixteco at home, Spanish in school, and later learned English when he moved to the U.S.
“In my case, my parents spoke a lot of Mixteco, and then that was like my first language,” he said. “So then I learned Spanish going to school, and then when I came over here, I had to learn English.”
Martinez says it wasn’t until he began working in Santa Maria as a police officer that he truly realized how valuable his trilingual skills would be.
“I encounter a lot of people that speak Mixteco, and being able to communicate with them, you know, being able to help them out, that’s when I was like, oh, you know, it’s very useful to know all three languages,” Martinez said.
Santa Maria Police Sgt. Felix Diaz says having Martinez in the department has helped in many ways.
“We do have a big Mixteco community in Santa Maria so it’s nice to bridge that communication gap, having an officer who can communicate our message to them in their native tongue,“ Sgt. Diaz said.
The officer also noted that many residents avoid contacting law enforcement out of fear they won’t be understood.
“I think it’s pretty important because a lot of times, just because they think, oh, well, if I call, they’re not going to be able to help me because they don’t speak the same language as me. They won’t be able to understand what I’m saying,” he said. “So I think a lot of people don’t call because of that."
Martinez says one of the biggest needs he sees is for residents to speak up if they notice suspicious activity, particularly with thefts and catalytic converter crimes on the rise.
“If they see something, like suspicious, they should go ahead and call it in, because you never know what’s going on,” he said.
Martinez’s path to law enforcement wasn’t immediate. He once thought about becoming an elementary school teacher before serving six years in the Marine Corps. There, he met officers from the Los Angeles area who encouraged him to pursue policing.
“Well, if I go to law enforcement, I would be able to help a lot of people out,” Martinez recalled thinking. “Especially since I’m from Santa Maria and I know a lot of people here speak Mixteco, I thought, well, maybe I become a police officer and I would be able to help my community out.”
Now, Martinez is not only working to protect the community but also to inspire the next generation. He points young people to the department’s Explorer program and other opportunities to learn about police work firsthand.
