IMMIGRANT SETS SIGHTS ON POLICE JOB : ARMENIAN APPLICANTS FACE LANGUAGE HURDLES.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

As an Armenian child growing up in Iran, Edwin Hacopian never even considered a career as a police officer.

``That was completely out of the question,'' said Hacopian, who fled Iran in 1987 as an Armenian refugee seeking religious asylum. ``We didn't trust them because they worked for the government and the government was seen as corrupt.''

But since settling in Glendale seven years ago, Hacopian, 29, has changed his mind about police work. To be an officer in the U.S. is ``honorable and prestigious,'' he said.

Twice, he has taken the test to become a Glendale police officer but has not made the cut.

``My (English) language skills are not good enough to be a police officer,'' Hacopian said, acknowledging he needs to improve them before he can effectively compete with other applicants.

In just the last 10 years, some 40,000 new Armenian immigrants have settled in Glendale, increasing the need for officers with bilingual skills. Despite attempts to recruit more bilingual officers, only four of the Glendale Police Department's 200 sworn officers speak Armenian fluently.

Glendale police say the department is actively seeking applicants like Hacopian, who speaks Armenian and Farsi, but members of the Armenian community believe the department isn't doing enough.

``You couldn't possibly understand the needs of this community with only four officers,'' said Alex Sardar, a spokesman for the Armenian National Committee.

``If the Armenians were represented on the police force by more Armenian cops, they would have an easier time communicating,'' he said. ``I'm not saying (families) would immediately open up, but there would be more flexibility for them to communicate with one another.''

But with 600 applications coming in for the one or two openings a year, competition is fierce, and many Armenian-speaking contenders don't have the English skills to compete, said Chahe Keuroghelian, a spokesman for the department.

Keuroghelian said the department cannot change its civil service hiring standards to make it more likely that a person who speaks Armenian will be chosen.

Besides English skills, many Armenian applicants who recently immigrated to the U.S. have a lack of knowledge of law enforcement or government structure which also hurts them in testing.

``There are no hiring quotas here,'' Keuroghelian said, calling quotas unfair. ``What we need to do is be more assertive in planning an aggressive outreach and recruitment effort in the Armenian community.''

Keuroghelian said 633 people applied for jobs as sworn officers in 1995, including 45 with Armenian language skills. In the end, 105 applicants were deemed eligible for a position, and nine of them had Armenian language skills. Ultimately, only one officer was hired, and the highest ranking Armenian applicant was 19th on the list.

Hacopian is undaunted by being passed over. He intends to try again to become a Glendale police officer. He is studying criminal justice at Glendale Community College and plans to pursue a bachelor's degree from California State University, Los Angeles.

Most significantly, last year he scored a part-time job working for the Glendale Police Department's fledgling community-based policing program. The program is run out of a substation on the campus of Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

Hacopian's job is to recruit and coordinate the activities of a cadre of community volunteers. His general enthusiasm for the job has made him a favorite co-worker of the officers, who have become his mentors.

``Edwin is a unique individual. He's kind of a take-control type of person, meeting challenges and overcoming obstacles,'' said Officer Javier Ruiz. ``Some people want to be police officers but don't take the initiative. He went out of his way to force his way onto this Police Department.''

Ruiz, who speaks English and Spanish, said officers in the department want more who are bilingual. Although they can always use an AT&T translation service if there is no bilingual officer available, more bilingual officers would clearly be an asset, he said.

``I don't think there is a department in this county that thinks they have enough,'' Ruiz said. ``A police department should be just as diverse as its community. I think the department has done a good job moving in that direction.''

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Photo

PHOTO Glendale police officers talk with a community coordi nator, Edwin Hacopian, 29, hoping to join their ranks.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News