ELMWOOD PARK -- In 1980, around the time a 6-year-old Alex Echevarria moved to the borough, about 4 percent of the 18,377 residents were Hispanic.

Twenty years later, the population was nearly unchanged, but Latino numbers had grown to more than 13 percent of the town's population.

Over the years, the borough Police Department had relied on temporary measures when accidents or investigations required officers to communicate with residents who speak only Spanish, Chief Don Ingrasselino said.

A few officers managed to stumble by in broken Spanish. The now-retired Municipal Court clerk would come to police headquarters to interpret. On big cases, investigators often called for an interpreter from the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office, or would bring in an officer from Paterson.

As of Monday, the Police Department can instead count on Echevarria, now 32, who became the borough's first Hispanic officer. The chief called him "a dynamite candidate."

"We're excited because we've been wanting to get more minorities and a Spanish-speaking officer," Ingrasselino said.

The Police Department has found it difficult to hire a Spanish-speaker because of civil service personnel rules that restrict hiring to a list of ranked candidates provided by the state Department of Personnel, the chief said, adding that about half of the state's 566 municipalities are classified as civil service towns. The other half are known as "chief's towns" in which hiring criteria are locally determined.

The civil service rankings make for a system of equal opportunity based on qualifications, though veterans and local residents receive preference, but it also means police departments in those towns cannot use ethnic or language background to move up a candidate's position. Until now, no Spanish-speaking candidate was high enough in the rankings at a time the borough was hiring.

Elmwood Park officials have interviewed Spanish-speaking officers from other towns for potential transfer, but they typically went to work in their hometowns or in higher-paying jobs, Ingrasselino said, adding that he was pleased when Echevarria placed high on the list as the department was hiring.

"We didn't hire Alex because he speaks Spanish," he said. "If he didn't speak a word, we still would have hired him. From a public and community relations point of view, it's just nice to have a local kid who grew up here and is part of the Hispanic community. He represents them and they should be represented."

Echevarria, who was sworn in last week and will receive a salary of $34,482, called the job "the opportunity of a lifetime. This town has given me so much." Three officers --Mike Kassai, Paul Young and Ralph Sigona -- were promoted to sergeant in the ceremony.

Echevarria's parents emigrated from Cuba to Union City in 1969. After his parents divorced, his mother, Maria Elisa Murgolo, a bank branch manager, married an Italian-American and moved the family to Elmwood Park. Growing up, Echevarria admired the community service and professionalism of local police officers, and watched as an older neighbor, Frank Monte, entered the police academy.

After Echevarria graduated from Bergen County Community College, he worked in customer service for Continental Airlines while studying at the Chubb Institute of Technology. A job in Continental's information technology department fell through after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and Echevarria landed a job as a public safety officer at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken.

There, former Stevens Chief Michael LaMarre helped him win a coveted spot at the Essex County College Police Academy, where Echevarria received leadership and physical fitness awards. After graduating from the academy, he worked as a police officer at Stevens. In June 2006, he was hired by the Madison Police Department, which is not bound by civil service rules, in part because of the town's growing Colombian population, Echevarria said. But he jumped at the chance to work in his hometown.

"I am very thankful for being here," he said. "This is where I pretty much want to end my career."

Antonio Hernandez, a police officer in Fort Lee and president of the Bergen County chapter of the National Latino Police Officers Association, applauded Echevarria's hiring. Larger communities in Bergen County -- among them Garfield, Teaneck, Bergenfield, Fort Lee, and Hackensack -- have hired Latino officers, but many smaller municipalities "are not striving to become more diverse," Hernandez said.

"We hope that communities throughout Bergen County will see the benefits and advantages of diversifying their police force," Hernandez said, "in order to better serve the needs of the increasing Latino population throughout the county."

-- Tom Meagher contributed to this report.

Reach Suzanne Travers at travers@northjersey.com