Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes Announces Retirement

Palm Desert CA

20 May, 2021

3:08 PM

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PALM SPRINGS, CA — After more than six years in the position, Palm Springs Department Chief Bryan Reyes will retire effective Aug. 23, it was announced Thursday. A search for his replacement is underway. It is unclear whether city officials will seek a candidate outside the department, or hire from within, which is what landed Reyes the job of the city's top cop back in February 2016. Reyes, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, started his career in law enforcement as a Palm Springs police officer 27 years ago, in 1993. He went on to traverse the ranks of detective, sergeant, lieutenant and captain, before he was tapped to lead the department. "It is with a great sense of pride and accomplishment that I announce my retirement from the city of Palm Springs, a community I am proud to say is one of the most welcoming and inclusive in the nation — with an exceptional quality of life thanks in large part to a force of outstanding police officers," Reyes said in a statement. "It has been my honor and privilege to serve as chief of police and I thank the City Council, residents and staff for their support." The city did not specify what Reyes' plans were after his retirement. Some of Reyes' accomplishments include beefing up the department's community policing efforts and expanding the department's engagement with residents and businesses, according to the city. However, it was less than a year into his tenure as chief when the department suffered a stinging tragedy when Officers Jose Gilbert "Gil" Vega and Lesley Zerebny were gunned down while on duty on Oct. 8, 2016 by John Hernandez Felix. Felix was sentenced to death for opening fire on the officers with an AR-15 rifle while they were responding to a domestic disturbance call at the Felix family home in the 2700 block of Cypress Avenue in Palm Springs. Vega, 63, was a veteran cop who was killed just months before he was set to retire after three decades of service. Zerebny, 27, had been with the department for 18 months and had just returned to duty following maternity leave, having given birth to a daughter, Cora, four months earlier. Vega and Zerebny were the first Palm Springs police officers killed in the line of duty since Jan. 1, 1962, when Officer Lyle Wayne Larrabee died during a vehicle pursuit. The only other death in the department was that of Officer Gale Gene Eldridge, who was fatally shot on Jan. 18, 1961, while investigating an armed robbery. "During this time of heartbreak, Reyes recognized the devastating impact the slayings had on the officers' families — and on his own officers within the force — taking care to ensure their mental health needs were not forgotten," according to a city statement. "His leadership during this difficult first year helped bring the community closer together and forge an even stronger relationship with the Palm Springs Police Department."