DHS Police Chief Charles Maynard returns to retirement

Desert Hot Springs will be getting a new police chief. Its interim head of the department is stepping down, just as the search for a permanent chief begins, and that could take months.

Chief Charles Maynard came out of retirement to serve as the temporary Chief for the Desert Hot Springs Police Department, and because of that, is only allowed to do so for a limited amount of time. That time is up on February 10.

Maynard, with 36 years of law enforcement experience, got brought in after the city’s fiscal emergency forced deep budget cuts within the department.

He had the daunting task of rebuilding and restructuring the force with several new hires and he also played a large part in the city council’s decision to keep the department.

“I think our greatest accomplishment has been able to let the City maintain their own police department. People that live here in the community that also work at the police department and I think they have a greater connection than if we had gone to a Sheriff contract. We are pretty happy with all of the things we have accomplished,” said Maynard.

“He is the kind of Police Chief that is very presentable, very sociable, and very an admired individual who comes across as a very sincere person who really cares about the good citizens of Desert Hot Springs and you don’t want to let him go, but because of the State of California we need to move forward,” said Mayor Adam Sanchez.

“I really enjoy the police department, this is a great group of people here, hard working people, and I am going to miss it,” said Maynard.

Maynard will return to retirement next month.

In the meantime, the city council has green-lighted the police department for the next five years and Maynard has started the process of hiring a permanent chief as well as a temporary one to finish the hiring process once he leaves.

“Anytime you change the person at the top numerous times it creates an instability in the organization, but we are doing our best at this point to bring someone in who is like minded as I am and we are looking for someone who will continue to carry on into the future what we have done so far to try to make it a smooth transition,” said Maynard.