Indio P.D. Terminates Operation Stonegarden

Today, the Indio Police Department addressed the recent termination of Operation Stonegarden, a Federal grant program, joining state, local, and tribal law-enforcement agencies, in an effort to secure the U.S. border. Concerns over resources and racial profiling led the Indio P.D. to cut all ties.

Indio Chief of Police, Richard Twiss stepped into office at the beginning of the year. One of the first decisions he had to make was whether to continue with the $1.3 million-dollar federal grant. He says, “”We did have a meeting with Comite Latino and we were just going to talk about opening lines of communication and speaking with them and one topic we discussed was to discontinue Operation Stonegarden.”

Immigration advocacy group, Comite Latino was at today’s press conference, in support of the department’s decision to pull the plug. They say the program created fear among the Latino community, to report crimes. Comite Latino Member, Bonifacio Espinoza says, “They no feel safe. They no trust the police department for several years because they are collaborating with the ICE and the border patrol.”

Coachella Mayor, Eduardo Garcia says, “Many times what we see is victims of crimes becoming subject to interrogation and ultimately I think that leads to less crimes being reported in our communities. So I think this is a step in the right direction as it relates to communication and reestablishes trust with law enforcement agencies.”

For the police department, Operation Stonegarden was taking its toll on their already limited staff. Ben Guitron says, “It was tasking our resources because the grant required a certain amount and level of service and obviously with our restraints and the current economic trends, even though it was paying for it, it was challenging our staff.”

And it was affecting their ability to focus on their job at hand. According to the Chief of Police, Richard Twiss, that included, “Enforcement of CA penal code, CA vehicle code and municipal codes. The enforcement of immigration status is really a charter of the U.S. border patrol and falls within their duties and responsibilities to investigate.”

Guitron says, “But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to identify if they’re not of legal status and they’re involved in a crime, they will be dealt with, with the laws provided before us to enforce.”