Palm Springs council supports Sheriff Bianco investigation, scouts homeless navigation center location
It was a busy night at Palm Springs city hall Thursday as the council looked to make progress on finding a spot for a new homeless navigation center. The council also announced they will lend support to the ACLU request for an investigation into Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
SHERIFF BIANCO INVESTIGATION
City leaders want to get to the bottom of claims made against Bianco by the ACLU, including rampant deputy violence, persistently inhumane jail conditions, and refusal to protect people in county custody from Covid-19.
The ACLU is calling on California Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate the Sheriff's Department, and now Palm Springs city council is adding its voice in too.
"We encourage the attorney general to determine what is true and to determine whether or not an investigation is in order," said Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Middleton.
The council said Bianco's refusal to enforce public health orders while sharing misinformation about the pandemic harmed residents. It also took issue with the sheriff's recently uncovered prior membership with racially charged conspiracy theorist group Oath Keepers.
"And now his refusal to denounce that membership and denounce the organization following what we now know as their involvement in the insurrection on the nation's capital," said Mayor Christy Holstege.
HOMELESS NAVIGATION CENTER LOCATION
The city also weighed options for locations to build a homeless navigation center. One option is an industrial property on McCarthy Road in the north end of the city.
Another is a warehouse on Ramon Road.
Some residents called in against the McCarthy site, which is located near the Desert Highland Gateway Estates neighborhood.
"This location is not the right location," one caller said. "We already have a problem with drugs, shootings and theft."
"We're in desperate need for establishments to stabilize our community, not hinder it further," said Deiter Crawford. "This project will negatively impact our residential communities nearby."
City council is tabling the discussion until next week's meeting while city staff works on analysis between the two properties.
Two things are clear the council wants to see: enough capacity to handle the homeless crisis, and to get a center up and running as quickly as possible.
