Matthew Jimenez

As Assistant Sheriff, I served as a senior member of the Sheriff's Executive Team in an At-Will capacity. I reported directly to the Sheriff. My core function was developing, implementing, directing, and executing all of Sheriff Bianco's administrative policies and procedures. As one of three Assistant Sheriff's, my specific areas of responsibility included executive oversight of the Professional Standards Bureau (Internal Affairs), Courts Services, Coroner, Public Administrator, Dispatch, Technical Services Bureau, Ben Clark Training Center, Recruitment, Volunteers Services, Sheriff's Human Resources, Leave Administrator, Project Management Office and a myriad of other administrative funtions .

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department consists of over 4000 employees. In my role as Assistant Sheriff, I supervised and directed two Chief Deputies (Executives), one Project Managment Director and approx. 1,600 other employees of various ranks.

I was appointed to Chief Deputy in January of 2019 following Sheriff Bianco's election victory. I was presented with the unique opportunity to help develop and implement his new administration along with an entirely new executive staff. We worked tirelessly to improve moral, repair and create productive and effective relationships with other law enforcement entities that had been neglected by the prior administration, update and improve equipment and training, encourage operational input from subordinates to facilitate free flow of information to identify and develop future leaders.

My Initial assignment consisted of operational oversite of all courthouses, two coroner bureaus, Public Administrator, Concealed Weapons unit, Research and Development, Modified Duty, Workers Compensation and other internal Human Resources and Sheriff's Administration roles as needed.

As a Chief Deputy, I was also assigned to East County Field Operations. I had operational oversite of five patrol stations which included the Colorado River Station, Thermal Station, Palm Desert Station, Cabazon Station and Hemet Station. My role was to ensure the Station Captains carried out the Sheriff's directives, station budgets were properly being managed, compliance with mandated state training and administer of personnel discipline.

Responsibilities included management and oversight of all Civil Service bureaus and courthouse operations throughout Riverside County (13 courthouses), execution of orders issued by the court and the service and execution of civil processes.

In this assignment, I worked closely with state court employees, members of both the District Attorney's and Public Defenders Office and Judicial Officers to provide exceptional courtroom service. My staff was tasked with interior courthouse / courtroom safety which included protection of the Judge, staff and members of the public for both civil and criminal proceedings

l served as the Commander of the Colorado Station located in Blythe California. While assigned there, I was responsible for operational oversight of field operations spanning from the Colorado River / Arizona border to Desert Center and from the San Bernardino County line to the Imperial County line. Responsibilities included management of patrol deputy deployment, the investigation bureau, property and evidence, dispatch services, the Blythe Narcotic Enforcement Team, and overall station administration. Overall, I had command and control of 30 employees and an operational budget of approximately 9 million dollars.

Responsibilities included the supervision of both the Civil and Court Services sergeants, who oversee all court functions at the Larson Justice Center, Indio Juvenile Court, and the smaller courthouses located in Palm Springs and Blythe. In this assignment, I handle all administrative duties, including evaluating employee performance, reviewing and preparing staff reports for both the Sheriff's Command staff and Court Executive staff, preparing and managing an operational budget, and overseeing the work duties and responsibilities of 48 employees.

I was assigned to the Thermal Station and selected to become the Assistant Chief of Police for the city of La Quinta. I worked closely with the city council and city staff in pursuing public safety goals and addressing quality-of-life issues that impacted the citizens. I managed a staff of approximately 55 employees, which consisted of patrol deputies, community services officers, motor/traffic units, and La Quinta's Special Enforcement Team.

I was assigned as the Administrative Lieutenant for the newly opened Palm Desert Station. I was primarily tasked with addressing a myriad of post construction issues impacting the station. In addition, I managed all administrative duties, including evaluating employee performance, preparing staff work and reports, preparing and managing the station's operational budget, and directing the work duties and responsibilities of the clerical, accounting, and logistics personnel of the station.

I was appointed as Indian Wells' first Assistant Chief of Police following a selection process by members of city council. I worked extremely close with city council and city staff in pursuing public safe goals and addressing quality of life issues. This appointment brought to light the political component of modern day policing. The city insisted upon providing exceptional service to its citizens which did not always comply with department standards. I was able to appease city council and staff by hand selecting which employees worked in their city and improving the service we were providing. These enhanced services included private crime prevention presentations, active shooter training, call audits to ensure quality service was provided and follow up visits on any crime amounting to a felony. This approach to policing not only provided the citizens of Indian Wells with a "concierge" type police department, it greatly improved the relationship between city staff and the sheriff department which ultimately stopped the city from forming their own police department.

As a Sergeant, I worked both as a patrol watch commander and team leader for the La Quinta Special Enforcement Team. My responsibilities included supervision of patrol and Special Enforcement Team personnel, reviewing police reports, conducting personnel investigations and training & mentoring subordinates. As the team leader of the La Quinta Special Enforcement Team, I was tasked with preparation of operational programs, grant funding, tactical planning and addressing quality of life issues.

I worked a variety of cases as an Investigator that included sexual assaults, frauds, robberies, attempted homicides and other criminal cases. I authored and executed numerous search warrants, conducted in depth investigations, authored comprehensive reports and testified in Superior Court on numerous occasions.

I worked a variety of assignments as a Deputy Sheriff. My first assignment was to the Indio Jail, working corrections, followed by patrol assignments to the Indio and Blythe stations. While assigned to these locations, I conducted basic criminal investigations, documented criminal activity, interviewed subjects, arrested suspects and testified in both traffic and criminal court cases

Following sucessfully completing bootcamp, I was assigned to Alpha Company 4th Tank Battalion in Miramar California. Although I had not completed all of my occupational training, my unit was activated for the Persian Gulf War. My unit participated in combat operations in Kuwait

My initial job on the tank was that of a "Loader". My responsibilities as the loader was to keep all weapon systems operational. From there, I elevated to "Driver" and later "Gunner". My roles as a driver was just that - to drive the tank. My role as gunner was much more interesting as I was tasked with operating the 120mm main gun and coax machine gun.