Palm Springs police employee charged with murder in collision involving another employee

A civilian employee of the Palm Springs Police Department faces murder and vehicular manslaughter charges following a fatal collision on Thanksgiving Day that claimed the life of a fellow department member.

Juliana Granados, 25, of Cathedral City was arrested and booked into the Riverside County Jail in Indio on Wednesday, according to the Cathedral City Police Department. Jail records show she is currently in the Banning jail being held on $1 million bail. Granados is accused of driving under the influence when her pickup truck rear-ended a motorcycle driven by Palm Springs community service officer Nick Griego, 31, of Palm Desert.

The collision occurred around 11:50 a.m. on Nov. 28 at the intersection of East Palm Canyon Drive and Cathedral Canyon Drive. Griego was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against Granados on Tuesday following an investigation, alleging alcohol was a contributing factor in the collision. The charges include a Watson murder, a form of second-degree murder in California that applies when a person dies due to the actions of another person driving while intoxicated.

Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills addressed the incident in a video statement Wednesday evening, confirming that both Granados and Griego were off-duty civilian employees of the department at the time of the crash. Granados’s exact role is not known. A state database lists her as a police officer trainee in Palm Springs in 2022 and a community service officer in Indio in 2023.

“I have promised to be honest and transparent with our community. I tell when we succeed and when we can do better. Now is one of those times,” Mills wrote on Facebook. “I am sorely disappointed by the behavior of an employee.”

The chief emphasized the department’s zero-tolerance policy for driving under the influence and expressed his commitment to maintaining high standards of conduct for all personnel. Granados has been placed on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of an internal personnel investigation.

“We hold all personnel to the highest standards of conduct, both on and off duty, and we will continue to ensure those standards are met,” Mills said. “… I want you to know that we are committed as a department, each and every one of us, to living by the highest standards possible.”

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