Local police departments release statements following Dallas police shooting
UPDATE 5:50 p.m.
Desert Hot Springs Police Chief Dale Mondary said Friday marked a dark day in his 30-plus year career in law enforcement, after hearing about the deadly shooting of Dallas police officers.
“I was shocked and stunned,” Mondary said. “It really has heightened our senses. Are we being sent on calls for services that are maybe set up to be ambushes?”
But Mondary said while concerns have been raised, so has community involvement.
The Desert Hot Springs Police Chief said continued involvement with diverse community organizations officers will be key in the wake of the shooting, working to maintain the public’s trust.
“There’s always work for us to do,” Mondary said. “We always want to continue that outreach [and] continue talking to the groups, so we have that open dialogue so that we can resolve issues. One, when they come up, and hopefully before they even arise.”
As they continue to work with the community, promoting peace and safety.
“There is a forum for your grievance,” Mondary said. “And it shouldn’t be out on the street.”
Mondary said Desert Hot Springs Police is partnering with the Word of Life center in Desert Hot Springs to have a community forum for residents to voice any concerns they may have.
You can find more information about the forum in earlier versions of the article below.
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Police departments across the Coachella Valley are releasing statements following the shooting of several police officers who were ambushed by a gunman at a protest in Dallas Thursday night.
The shooting happened as videos showing two African-American men shot by police in Louisiana and Minnesota spurred protests and debate over police use of force across the country.
The ambush began with gunshots that killed five officers and sent screaming crowds scrambling for cover. It ended when a Dallas police bomb squad robot killed a gunman after negotiations failed.
Read the response from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
Governor Brown Issues Statement Following Attacks on Officers in Dallas
Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz posted the following statement to Facebook:
I condemn the murder of police officers and innocent bystanders in the midst of a peaceful protest in Dallas. My thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this awful violence.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chief Dale Mondary with the Desert Hot Springs Police Department said his station will be at the Word of Life Fellowship Center on August 1 at 7:30 p.m. to give residents an opportunity to ask questions, or voice any concerns they may have to local law enforcement.
The Word of Life Fellowship Center is located at 66290 Estrella Drive in Desert Hot Springs.
In response to the violence in Dallas, the Palm Springs Police Department issued the following response on Friday morning:
We were recently asked by the media if local agencies share the same view as the Dallas Police Chief, specifically regarding this following quote:
“This must stop — this divisiveness between our police and our citizens,” Chief Brown said. “We don’t feel much support most days. Let’s not make today most days. Please, we need your support to be able to protect you from men like these, who carried out this tragic, tragic event.”
And more specifically if we believe divisiveness is present in the Coachella Valley, or if the general population tends to be more cooperative with and receptive to law enforcement.
While we can’t speak for the entire Coachella Valley the City of Palm Springs has a tremendous, cooperative working relationship with its community. It is absolutely critical in these times the community and law-enforcement continue to work together on issues and improve the quality of life for all people in the city of Palm Springs.
Today and more than ever, these are truly challenging times. The senseless and cowardly murders of five police officers and shooting of at least 6 others in Dallas is never an appropriate response to frustration.
The City of Palm Springs Police Department will continue its efforts in collaborating and communicating with our community on a day-to-day basis through good times and bad to help maintain a good quality of life for our community, it’s first responders and all who visit here.
We are grateful for an extremely involved community. The City of Palm Springs created the Office of Neighborhood Involvement many years ago, which has resulted in 40 Organized Neighborhoods in our community. Officers and Supervising Officers are assigned to every neighborhood as liaisons to keep the lines of communication open.
We have a Citizens Police Academy that averages over 50 students per class and is to be designed to provide education and communication between the police and the community. This program has been offered by our Police department for over 20 years. We have a Citizens on Patrol program with very dedicated residents giving back to our community 7 days a week. We have several other programs that reinforce our partnership with our great community.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Dallas community and all those affected by this senseless tragedy.
– Palm Springs Police Department
The Palm Springs Police Officers Association released the following statement:
“Yesterday was a deeply tragic day for the American law enforcement family. Without cause or provocation, twelve Dallas Police Officers were shot in the line of duty along with two bystanders. While nine of those wounded are likely to survive, five of these brave police officers were killed. These officers were targeted for the simple fact that they wore a uniform and a badge. This is unconscionable.”
“On behalf of the men and women of the Palm Springs Police Officers Association, I wish to express our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the Dallas Police Officers whose lives were so senselessly taken from them. We ask that everyone pray for the full recovery of all of those who were wounded yesterday and that their loved ones would be comforted during this difficult time.”
– Joe Cook, president of the Palm Springs Police Officers Association:
The Indio Police Department released the following statement:
In the wake of the tragic events in Dallas, the Indio Police Department has received numerous phone calls and emails in support of the law enforcement community of not only Indio but the entire Coachella Valley.
The following is a reflection of the supportive emails and phone calls that we have received this morning, “I wanted to write you and our men and women in blue who protect me and my family and our city each day and say THANK YOU for all you and they do each and every day.”
Chief Twiss said, “The women and men of the Indio Police Department send their prayers for trust, peace and condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and community members murdered and wounded during the tragic ambush last evening in Dallas.” Our hearts are with the Dallas Police Department. Our hearts are with the victims, and their loved ones. They wear the badge too.
–Indio Police Department
Cathedral City Police Department’s statement from Chief George Crum:
The men and women of the Cathedral City Police Department are deeply saddened today by the horrific tragedy experienced yesterday evening in Dallas, Texas. Five brave law enforcement officers lost their lives and made the ultimate sacrifice for their community and additional victims were injured as a result of this ambush style shooting which clearly targeted uniformed police officers and occurred during a planned peaceful protest.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families impacted by what is being called the worst loss of life in American Law Enforcement since September 11, 2001. We wish a speedy recovery to the injured officers and two civilians that are in Dallas area hospitals.
This senseless act of violence has impacted the Dallas Police Department, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police, the City of Dallas and the entire Law Enforcement community and this Nation in its entirety.
We ask all community members of this great nation to be patient and have faith in the legal process before reacting emotionally to initial media broadcasts of incidents and subjecting the innocent public to extreme inexcusable violence which has plagued our nation’s communities in recent times.
-Cathedral City Police Department Chief of Police George Crum
KESQ and CBS Local 2 is looking into community policing in the Coachella Valley following the tragic shooting in Dallas, watch our full report during our evening newscasts.
