cops

Policing in Vienna

In the introductory narration of the Orson Welles movies "The Third Man" the narrator describes Vienna after the war. Most of the city is divided into four zones: American, English, Russian and French. A small portion of the city is called the "international zone" which is run by four police captains, one each from each of the four powers. The narrator chuckles how they couldn't speak the same language, and each only new a few words in German. The result? A state of lawlessness, racketeering and black market trade that provides the backdrop for the movie.

NYC, as an example

NYC is a highly multi-lingual area.

NYC Cops, do they have an "arresting non-english speakers course?"

Obviously not for all languages, but is there an official way to arrest a person who speaks a language you don't know?

The cops yelling "Freeze!" in a non-native language, and knowing that ignoring that order can be fatal, concerns me.