'Casino Night' Tonight in Palm Springs Benefits Family of Police Officer, Iraq Veteran from Beaumont

A 'Casino Night' to benefit the family of Cathedral City police Officer and USMC squad leader Jermaine Gibson of Beaumont is scheduled Saturday, June 25, in Palm Springs.

Gibson, 28, a Beaumont resident at the time of his death, was killed March 18 in a pursuit crash in Palm Springs. He was laid to rest one week later at Riverside National Cemetery.

He was chasing a wanted parolee in a stolen vehicle when his patrol car crashed into a palm tree and burst into flames on South Palm Canyon Drive.

Gibson was recently married and he was the father of a four-week-old infant son, Cathedral City police Lt. Charles Robinson said the day after Gibson's death.

He served two tours in the Iraq War with the Marine Corps, earned a Purple Heart for being wounded in combat, and was honorably discharged as an infantry squad leader. He was a native of New Orleans.

The Palm Springs Police Officers Association will host the benefit event from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. June 25 at the Riviera Palm Springs Resort, 1600 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs.

The event will be held in honor of Gibson and part of the proceeds will benefit his wife, Jessica, and infant son, Jermaine Jr., Palm Springs police Officer Rhonda Long said in a statement. Proceeds will also benefit the Palm Springs Police Officers Association Memorial Foundation, a 501(c)(3), Long said.

Games of chance will include poker, blackjack, roulette and craps. There will also be raffles, prizes, a DJ, no-host bars and an outside cigar bar.

Admission is $50.00 per person in advance or $60.00 at the door, and includes qualification for a grand prize drawing, Long said.

Prizes to be given away include a 7-night stay in Puerto Vallarta, Las Vegas getaways, golf packages, and Major League Baseball passes, organizers said.

The evening will start with an Honor Guard presentation by the Palm Springs Public Safety and Cathedral City Public Safety units, accompanied by a bagpiper, and a memorial slide show produced by Palm Springs police Officer Stefanie Campbell.

Tickets are available online at www.pspoa.com/store, and at Heads Up Hair Design, 460 S. Palm Canyon Drive.

For more information, email troy.castillo@pspoa.com or call (760) 778-8420.