Los Angeles police Capt. Dennis Kato stands in a rooftop parking lot, a device in hand resembling a clunky 1980s-era cellphone.
He selects Korean from the device's menu, then speaks into the microphone: "Medical assistance." A speaker on his vehicle booms in Korean: "If you require medical assistance, please approach the nearest officer."
Switching to Spanish, Kato says: "Welcome." The screen lights up: "Welcome to this event. We are here to facilitate your 1st Amendment rights."
"Bienvenidos a este evento. Estamos aqui para facilitar sus derechos de la primera enmienda constitucional," the words echo toward the L.A. River.
The Los Angeles Police Department's latest high-tech crime-fighting tool, the Phraselator, enables officers to translate and broadcast thousands of prerecorded phrases in a multitude of languages.
Quietly introduced to the department in late summer, the Phraselator may have found an ideal home in Los Angeles, where police have long struggled to find officers who can communicate in all 224 languages spoken in the immigrant-rich city.
The idea of a simple device that can instantly translate any language is a staple of utopian fiction, from "Star Trek's" universal translator to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's" Babel Fish. But as anybody knows who has read the sometimes comical texts provided by voice-recognition software, getting translations right is difficult.
The Phraselator doesn't attempt voice-to-voice translation. Instead, the LAPD's bilingual officers -- 32% of the 9,600-member force has some foreign language proficiency -- translate and load standard police commands and questions into the device's computer memory. The translations can be retrieved and broadcast by a simple English-language text or voice word search.
"It is not quite like that translator thing on 'Star Trek.' It's a step or two away," Kato said. "But when it comes to crowd control, natural disasters or medical emergencies, it can be a lifesaver."
The device was developed with the backing of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and used in Afghanistan and Iraq by American soldiers communicating with people in Farsi, Dari, Pashto and other languages.
The LAPD's interest was whetted by the MacArthur Park melee last May, when a disturbance blamed on communication difficulties led to injuries to about 250 protesters and journalists and 18 officers.
