Nearly 100 arrests at Coachella

Indio police arrested 97 people during Coachella’s first weekend, with drug possession accounting for most of the cases. (cbsnews.com) The Indio Police Department said the arrests came over the festival’s first three days, April 10 through April 12, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, where Coachella is being held again on April 17 through April 19. (cbsnews.com) (coachella.com) Police said 59 people were arrested for drug possession and 14 for false identification. Three arrests were listed as drug or alcohol intoxication, one as a property crime, and 20 in an “other” category. (cbsnews.com) The total was slightly higher than last year’s first weekend, when Indio police reported 95 arrests. Local station KESQ said the biggest jump came in drug-possession cases, which rose by more than 30 from 2025. (kesq.com) Coachella’s public-safety tally arrives as the festival marks its 2026 run across two weekends in Indio. The event remains one of the largest annual gatherings in the Coachella Valley, drawing heavy police, traffic and medical planning around the Empire Polo Club. (coachella.com) (kesq.com) The same local reports said handicap-parking citations fell sharply from 82 in 2025 to 32 this year. That drop stood alongside the arrest increase in Indio’s weekend-one enforcement data. (kesq.com) Weekend two begins Friday, April 17, with the same venue and another large law-enforcement deployment expected around the festival grounds. The first weekend’s 97 arrests now set the baseline for how officials and residents will measure the rest of Coachella 2026. (coachella.com) (cbsnews.com)