C’ville Police to use new ELSA live-translate tech

Communication between the languages is an age-old challenge. But the Collierville Police Department will soon be getting help from a new technology aimed at instantly bridging the gap. The device is called Enabling Language Service Anywhere, or ELSA.

ELSA is a simple black box that is clipped to the belt of the user. With the push of a button, live translators are available over a wireless network to assist with translating 180 different languages and dialects. The live translators interact with the officer and client.

This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“This ability to provide real-time communication between people who speak different languages in virtually any situation or environment is key in assisting the police department to better serve our citizens and guests in Collierville,” assistant chief Jeff Abeln said.

The developer of ELSA, RTT Mobile Interpretation, originally designed the device for law enforcement but is now seeing its use in many applications, including first responders and other health care workers, government agency employees, and financial services employees. Their company mission is to provide affordable and highly mobile interpretation solutions to overcome language barriers and to improve communication through their technology platform.

The Collierville Police Department is among several Mid- South public safety agencies that have recognized the value of such a device.

“Once this becomes fully functional and running, it’s going to break down a lot of barriers in communication,” said police chief Larry Goodwin.

He said that the department is currently training its officers on the device and that residents should see it on the streets very shortly.

Collierville attorney Fred Auston Wortman III pleaded not guilty Thursday in Fayette County Court of trying to kill his wife.

After a grand jury indictment, Wortman, 39, was charged with one count of attempted firstdegree murder and two counts of solicitation of first-degree murder.

He was arraigned before Judge Weber McGraw on the three-count indictment that stemmed from a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation operation that was announced July 28. Wortman’s trial date is set for Dec. 1.

Wortman was arrested by several police officers June 5 at a Fayette County

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Germantown police have arrested two 19-yearold men who allegedly forced their way into a home July 29 afternoon while a 13-year-old girl was inside.

Diego Valdemar Resendez and Ivan Mejia Angeles both of Memphis were charged with aggravated burglary and theft of property.

Police said the suspects forced their way into the home in the 1800 block of River Valley Drive just before 1 p.m.

Resendez and Angeles allegedly knocked on the front door of the home and then went around back and broke out a window of a door used to gain entry into the home, police said in a release.

The girl’s father arrived home and confronted the suspects, who fled in an older model Ford F-150 pickup, police said.

The men, who stole assorted tools, were not armed and no one was injured.

One suspect was arrested July 29 when police found his truck in the in the 6600 block of Mallard Nest Cove in Memphis. The other suspect was arrested later July 29.

Detectives were able to link and charge Angeles to a previous burglary in the 7000 block of Westminster in October 2014.