Hispanic Heritage: Bilingual cop aids Waco community

WACO, Texas ( FOX 44 ) – The mission of the City of Waco’s Police Department is to provide police services with integrity, professionalism, accountability and respect. Officers preserve life and property and enforce the law within the framework of the Constitution.

In addition, police officers work in partnership with the community and are good stewards of the public’s trust and resources. The men and women in blue who take the oath to protect and serve do so knowing they will perform valuable services that will improve the quality of life for thousands of people.

One of those men proudly wearing the badge is Manuel Esqueda, or Manny, as he’s known by his friends. He has learned that being Hispanic is helping him work his beat because he’s able to communicate with some people in their native tongue.

It takes a lot of courage to put on this uniform. Manny never thought he would have that honor today.

“‘That’s not possible, I’m probably going to do something else.’ Never a police officer. That never crossed my mind,” Manny remembers.

It started out as a joke between him and his brother.

“It was at that point we got the letter, ‘Hey, you guys are approved for the academy!” says Manny.

And a commitment was made.

“‘You can’t turn back now, I’m already here!’ Yeah, I went through the academy, and here I am now,” Manny explains.

His family moved back to Mexico when Manny was just six months old and later moved to the States again when he was seven years old, where his parents and grandparents worked as migrant farm workers.

“He would show me, ‘Look, this was the farm. We used to pick oranges,’ or ‘We used to plant lettuce here,’ and it was nice seeing that growing up. I could envision what they used to do and their sacrifices to get us where they’re at right now,” says Manny.

Hard work and dedication have been instilled in Manny, and it didn’t take long for him to realize his Hispanic heritage would play a huge role in patrolling the south Waco beat.

“Being a Spanish-speaking officer, I would fit in better. For the betterment of the city and the citizens to assist them in Spanish calls,” says Manny. “As soon as I start speaking Spanish, you can see the relief in their face and they’re more comfortable speaking to me in their native language.”

He especially enjoys getting the opportunity to educate those who might think they can’t call the police when they’re in need.

“Regardless of your legal status, regardless of language, we are here to assist all the citizens of the community of Waco,” Manny says.

His fellow officers who don’t speak Spanish are just as grateful. Manny says helping his community comes naturally.

“I love it. I tell people all the time it doesn’t even feel like a job,” says Manny.

Even though he never thought policing was in his future, he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“I would do it all over again. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely worth it,” Manny says.

Officer Esqueda is clearly an inspiration to all who know him. What many people don’t know is that being a police officer isn’t what he started out doing. Until Manny entered the police academy, he worked behind the scenes in TV as a highly skilled engineer – but when he received his calling, he answered and hasn’t looked back.

At this time, according to the City of Waco, there are 291 sworn officers serving a population of more than 145,000, and 16.5 of officers employed by the city are Hispanic.

In 2022, in its annual report to the City of Temple, the Police Department showed 145 sworn officers, of which eight percent of those are Hispanic. All of these officers are responsible for the safety and well-being of more than 93,000 people.

In its annual report to the city last year, the Killeen Police Department consisted of 223 sworn officers, with seven being Hispanic. As a whole, these officers protect and serve almost 160,000 Killeen residents.

Nationally, Data USA reported in 2022 that 17.2 percent of police officers in the U.S. were Hispanic and that, as an ethnic group, they have been joining the ranks of law enforcement at a higher rate than other racial or ethnic groups.

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