The number of people cited for misusing a disabled person’s parking placard on the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has increased. Indio Police said there were 54 placard citations written this year and 42 in 2019 before the pandemic shuttered the festival for two years. Additionally, 18 people were cited for unlawfully parking in a handicapped parking stall, twice as many as in 2019. People entering the handicapped parking area must show the identification of the person to whom the placard was issued, and that person must be in the car. Police made 112 arrests starting Thursday night: 85 for intoxication, 15 for presenting false identification, nine for property crimes and three for possession of illegal drugs to make sales. There were 99 arrests on the first weekend of 2019.
