I-Team: Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills reflects on 49-year career as he prepares to retire

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) - After nearly half a century in law enforcement, Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills is preparing to hang up his badge.

Mills will officially retire Saturday, bringing to a close a 49-year career in policing, including nearly five years leading the Palm Springs Police Department.

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During his time as chief, Mills guided the department through several high-profile crises, pushed for changes within its culture, and became a familiar presence at community events across Palm Springs.

News Channel 3’s Peter Daut sat down with Mills for an in-depth conversation about his career, the challenges that defined his time in Palm Springs and why he believes now is the right time to step away.

One of the final projects Mills has watched take shape is the department’s new Real Time Intelligence Center, where law enforcement agencies from across the Coachella Valley can gather and analyze real-time information from drones, license plate readers, 911 calls and other sources.

For Mills, the center offers a glimpse of where policing is headed, even as his own career comes to an end.

“It just makes us so much more effective and safer,” Mills said while touring the center with Daut.

But Mills won’t be there to lead what comes next.

Asked whether he will miss Palm Springs, Mills didn’t hesitate.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “I’m going to miss the people here. I’m going to miss working in this community. I’m going to miss all the events that we go to. I’m going to miss the nightlife, the restaurants.”

Then he laughed.

“I’ll probably lose weight after I leave.”

‘It was just time’

Mills said his decision to retire wasn’t prompted by a single event. After nearly five decades in law enforcement, he simply felt the time had come — both for himself and for the department.

“After 49 years of policing, I figured that’s long enough,” Mills said. “But more importantly, legacy is about inspiring those to take the next step. And the people inside the department are ready to go.”

When Mills arrived in Palm Springs in 2021, he said he inherited a department with a culture that needed to change.

“One of the biggest complaints I heard was, ‘Your officers are doing nothing. They’ll come to our house, they won’t make contact with us, they’ll say there’s nothing we can do about that, they’re not taking reports,’” Mills recalled. “And I think it was true.”

Changing that culture became one of his central missions as chief.

Mills said those complaints eventually subsided, in large part because people within the department recognized that change was necessary.

“It’s been years since I’ve heard those complaints,” Mills said. “Mostly because people inside the organization agreed and said, ‘It’s time for us to change the culture of this organization.’”

“And now the mission continues,” he added. “I just won’t be here for it.”

Leading Palm Springs through moments of crisis

Mills’ tenure was also defined by moments that tested both the police department and the community it serves.

In May 2025, a bomb exploded outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, killing the suspected bomber, injuring others and shattering windows for blocks.

Mills said his role that day wasn’t simply to help lead the law enforcement response. He also believed he had a responsibility to reassure a shaken community.

“That was certainly a stressful day from the standpoint that you’re trying to make sure this community is protected, that we recover correctly,” Mills said. “People want hope.”

“If I can stand up and talk all day about what a terrible attack this was, that’s not what people want to hear,” he continued. “They want to know they’re going to be safe.”

Months earlier, the department faced a very different kind of crisis when a Palm Springs police officer lost control of his motorcycle during the city’s Festival of Lights Parade, crashing into the crowd and injuring spectators.

Mills acknowledged the incident damaged the department’s reputation.

“It was embarrassing,” he said. “That was something that could have been prevented, but we learned some lessons from that.”

Mills said the department’s response afterward was critical to rebuilding trust.

“Going to the community afterward and saying that we’re sorry, that that was a terrible event that could have been prevented, and that we’re going to move forward and make sure we’re doing a thorough and complete investigation and report back to the community — which we did — I think that made a huge difference,” he said.

Balancing technology and privacy

Public trust has also been at the center of debate surrounding Palm Springs’ use of Flock cameras, which capture vehicle and license plate information.

Mills is a strong supporter of the technology, but he said its use must come with strict safeguards.

“We’re not tracking people all over town,” Mills said. “We’re tracking a point in time at a location, and yes, vehicles go through that. And we only look at those vehicles when there’s a crime that takes place.”

For Mills, the larger question isn’t simply what the technology is capable of doing, but how the city can ensure it isn’t abused.

“The issue becomes, how do you govern it?” Mills said.

He said the city is moving toward establishing a community oversight board whose members would review how the technology is being used.

Mills also said he has been researching a potential law that would impose consequences on anyone who misuses the data, including members of law enforcement.

“I’m also in the process of doing research and asking council for a law that says if anybody misuses the data, misuses the cameras, including our own people, that they’re guilty of a misdemeanor,” he said.

Mills credits his wife with helping Palm Springs embrace him

For all the technology, policies and crises that defined Mills’ tenure, he believes something much simpler helped him connect with the Palm Springs community: his wife, Cathy.

Asked whether Cathy was his “secret sauce,” Mills laughed and agreed.

“I can’t count how many events we went to where I think I’m going to be the popular guy — I’ve got the uniform on — and they’re like, ‘Excuse me,’ and get to Cathy,” Mills said. “But I love that.”

Mills said he and Cathy developed a connection with Palm Springs that extended well beyond his position as police chief.

Asked why he believed the community embraced him so strongly, Mills again pointed to his wife.

“I’m not 100 percent sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion some of it’s Cathy,” he said.

Mills also believes residents came to recognize that the couple genuinely considered themselves part of the community.

“When they could see we were serious about protecting this community and being a part of this community, I think that really helped gel and codify the relationship,” he said.

‘When I’m done, I’m done’

Mills and his wife are now preparing to leave Palm Springs and move to Sacramento to be closer to his mother.

And once he hangs up the badge, Mills said he doesn’t intend to become a backseat police chief.

“I don’t want to be in a position where people come to me saying, ‘Do you know what the police department did? Do you know what the new chief did?’” Mills said. “I’m not going to second-guess. When I’m done, I’m done. I’m out of the mix.”

Asked whether that means he wants a clean break, Mills replied simply: “I want a clean break, so that’s why it seems right.”

But it won’t be a complete break from Palm Springs.

“Of course,” Mills said when asked whether he would return to visit. “We love this place. We love the people here, so there’ll be times we come back for special events or to see friends and family.”

As for the person who takes over the department, Mills has one overriding hope: that the work continues.

“Continue the mission and improve the mission,” Mills said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the people currently in place inside the organization not only take the mission that we already started, but make it better.”

Mills said he is confident in the department’s future and in whoever is selected to lead it.

“I’m very confident that whatever the city manager chooses to do with the next chief, that it will be spectacular,” Mills said. “And they will continue to support this community and love this community, and the community will love them right back.”

Daut pointed out that whoever succeeds Mills will have big shoes to fill.

Mills had one final correction.

“Size 12s,” he joked.