Latino Cop Makes It a Mission to Help His Community Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

By Madelaine D. Sep 22 2020, 04:59 AM EDT

A Latino cop made it a mission to help the people in his community deal with the coronavirus pandemic by educating them.

Noe Marquez, second in command at the Fairmont City Police Department, knew the people's struggles in his hometown, and he chose to help and be a go-to guy for public health information in their community.

There is more than 80 percent of the Hispanic population in the southwestern Illinois village, and 27 percent are not U.S. citizens.

A first-generation Mexican-American, Marquez is the link to an English-speaking world that can be unfamiliar to Latino Fairmont City residents.

As a lieutenant-detective, his white colleagues depend on him when connecting to the Spanish-speaking community. He is also the only full-time Latino officer in the 21-member department, said former coworker Scott Penny Jr.

According to MSN, the COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Latino communities, including Fairmont City.

That's why Marquez decided to adopt another unofficial title since the pandemic began; the go-to guy for public health information.

Local county leaders and Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office translate information and news conferences into Spanish, but gaps in language, culture, and technology still complicate matters.

The 42-year-old Latino cop witnessed the problem first-hand. Two residents he knew died of COVID-19, and hundreds more fell ill.

After the death of a 50-year-old woman, who frequently baked bread for the officers, Marquez realized how bad the situation is. The woman rarely left the house because of health concerns, but the virus got her through visitors.

Marquez noted that Fairmont is a small community, and they had never thought that the coronavirus would come to their community.

When the testing began increasing in early July, village leaders discovered that the coronavirus was more a problem than expected. The testing revealed new infections each day after factories reopened in late June to non-essential workers. This contributed to increasing coronavirus transmission, and suspicion of testing may also contribute.

"A lot of Hispanic men look at it as you're weak if you have a cold and you call off work. You muscle through it, or you get picked on at work," Marquez said.

According to Marquez, most undocumented immigrants in their place are afraid to get a test for COVID-19, as the government might know the place they live. So there is a lot of reluctance for people to get tested.

"For me, it had a lot to do with growing up and not having resources provided for the Hispanic community," Marquez said.

One of Marquez's biggest problems was helping people understand that they couldn't do the traditional customs of conducting frequent parties. He said Latinos love parties.

José Martínez, former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder and first baseman, recorded a video in the Spanish language for Fairmont City people urging them to follow health guidelines.

The Spanish broadcaster for the Cardinals, Polo Ascencio, also appealed to residents to stay at home when possible, wash their hands, wear masks, and maintain social distancing.

Even if it is only one or two deaths, Marquez said every loss is a blow to the small village. The Latino community looked up to Marquez for help. However, police still have "walls to break down," especially in their community where residents would not trust the law enforcement in the country where they came.

"It's not a secret that not just in Mexico but a lot of governments in other countries, are involved in crime and corruption. They come here just assuming that's natural. That's why doing community policing is the number one priority here," Marquez said.