An Indio police officer was arrested for allegedly brandishing a firearm during an off-duty incident in the Bermuda Dunes area, authorities announced Thursday.
Salvador Mason Cardenas Jr., 30, of Joshua Tree, was booked into Benoit Detention Center in Indio Wednesday on suspicion of brandishing a firearm and dissuading a witness, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Bail information was not immediately available.
Deputies with the Riverside County Thermal Sheriff’s Station Investigations Bureau started an investigation into the allegations in April.
“The Indio Police Department holds all employees to high standards of professionalism and accountability,” the agency said in a statement .”Officer Cardenas has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings and an internal administrative investigation.”
He was arrested Wednesday after deputies spotted his vehicle and conducted a traffic stop in the area of the 10 Freeway and Highway 62. A search warrant was served at his residence in the 7000 block of Sunny Vista Road in Joshua Tree, where they allegedly found “evidence of the crime,” the department said.
Details behind the alleged brandishing of a firearm and dissuading a witness were not immediately known.
The investigation was ongoing, and anyone with additional information regarding the case was asked to call 760-863-8990.