Palm Springs police chief grounds motorcycle fleet after crash at Festival of Lights Parade, three remain hospitalized

Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills shared the latest on the devastating officer-involved motorcycle crash at the Festival of Lights Parade that left 12 people injured.

Check Out Our Coverage of the Palm Springs Parade Motorcycle Crash

Mills told News Channel 3's Garrett Hottle on Monday that three people remain hospitalized, including the officer involved.

"He's struggling, as you might imagine, you know, having the potential loss of a career," Chief Mills explained. "But the doctors have done such an amazing job that he'll be able to, heal and come back and work and serve this community like he has always."

Graphic video surfaced over the weekend, revealing the possible extent of the officer's injuries. The officer, Kenney Merenda, did not lose a hand as other agencies reported, but Mills said he will need future surgeries.

"He has not lost a hand. I know that there's a lot of reports in social media that said he lost a hand. That is not the case. That his doctors are absolutely fabulous. They were able to, to go into surgery, and at least get him to the point where they can have further surgeries down the road," Mills said.

Another major change in the aftermath of the crash, Mills said the police motorcycle fleet is currently grounded.

"First, I've ordered a stand down of all the motor operations," Chief Mills said. "I want us to give us some time to really consider what took place, how it happened, and procedurally as well as organizationally, what we might be able to do differently. Second thing is we're going to do a full administrative review. We're going to look at what we did, how we did it, and and look at the inconsistencies of what our procedures are and fix those things, whether it's training or equipment or or behaviors, it's going to have to get fixed."

"The third thing that we're doing is to do an internal investigation. Did our officers follow procedure? And if they didn't follow procedure, why didn't they? And so we will make sure that we're doing that and we're analyzing what was done."

Mills also said that wheelies or clutch pops will never be allowed at future demonstrations again.

"But again, that is never going to take place again. I can guarantee you that nobody in this department will pop a wheelie on their motorcycle ever again," Mills said.

Despite being the sole spokesperson on this event Police Chief Andy Mills says he feels he has the support of city leadership behind him. News Channel 3 reached out to Palm Springs City Leadership who deferred to Chief Mills during this time.

Mills said., "I've got broad support from the city government as well as the community, and I know that. But the reason I want to make sure that I have that support is because I want to be transparent. I'm going to be direct with our community. I'm going to release this report to the community so that they, too, can see exactly what we found and then ask thoughtful questions."

"I think the most salient point is that we're going to take an objective, thorough look," Mills said. "We'll report back to the community and that we absolutely will make the changes necessary to make sure this community is safe."

The crash happened when Merenda lost control of his police motorcycle, causing the vehicle to go into the crowd at the annual Festival of Lights in downtown Palm Springs on Saturday evening.

"An officer was on his motorcycle and doing crowd control as well as some demonstrations," Mills said Sunday. "When he turned around the back side of a car, he lost his balance on the bike. His foot slipped off the peg and it caused him to have to grip the handlebars, which caused the bike to accelerate at a rapid speed."

There were no fatalities.

Mills said he visited the injured officer Sunday along with Mayor Jeffery Bernstein and City Manager Scott Stiles, and Merenda "was alert and conversant. The doctors at Desert Regional are amazing and I am happy to report he will likely recover mobility in his hand. Kenney expressed deep concern for all of those injured and wishes them a full and speedy recovery. Of the 11 others transported for care, two were kept by the hospital for further treatment."

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.