Advocates are demanding answers after an internal report alleged Riverside code officers mistreated street vendors, entered homes without warrants, and used aggressive tactics over years. City officials say they are reviewing the department, but questions rema
For street vendors in Riverside. the fear is not theoretical—it’s tied to the possibility that a knock on the door could turn into something far worse. An internal report alleging years of mistreatment by the city’s code enforcement officers has now landed back in the public eye. and advocates say the city still hasn’t done enough to provide justice to the people they believe were harmed.
The allegations come with specific details that have unsettled the community. The report. created in August by an investigator hired by the city to probe a whistleblower’s complaint. accuses senior code officers Mark Ilagan and Mark Hernandez of potentially unlawful behavior toward citizens. It also says supervisors Chris Christopoulos and Jennifer Lilley failed to take action in response.
The whistleblower, a code enforcement officer, was escorted from City Hall the day after she filed the complaint. In the report. the investigator described her removal as “retaliatory” and alleged that Christopoulos and Lilley had created a hostile work environment. The investigator also identified potential legal violations by Ilagan and Hernandez. including allegations of theft. robbery. kidnapping. unlawful entry. impersonating a peace officer. and. in the case of Ilagan alone. battery.
Ilagan has denied the allegations, and Lilley has said the report contained inaccuracies. Neither Christopoulos nor Hernandez could be reached for comment. The four no longer work for the city of Riverside. The whistleblower resigned last year.
Advocates say the city’s response is the real test: what officials did after the complaint. and what they’re doing now to make up for alleged harm to vendors who may have had property improperly taken. “We need to figure out how we can provide a sense of justice to vendors in the immediacy. ” said Eddie Torres. policy director at the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice. “And then we can focus on providing policy and other reforms down the line.”.
The report itself was uploaded to the city’s public-records portal late last month after a request from local resident Jason Hunter. At a recent City Council session. Hunter pressed for answers—asking why it took seven months before some of those involved were no longer employed and whether the allegations were referred to authorities for potential criminal prosecution. “This has all the markings of a citywide cover-up,” he said.
Riverside Police Department did not respond to a request for comment on whether it investigated either officer. A spokesperson for the Riverside County district attorney’s office said prosecutors had not received a case involving Ilagan but was not sure about Hernandez.
The city has said it took disciplinary action in response to the investigation but declined to provide details. citing confidentiality requirements involving personnel matters. Lilley has said she was terminated, and Ilagan said he resigned. The city’s handling of criminal scrutiny remains unclear. and Torres and other advocates argue that accountability should be more visible.
“It suggests that Riverside is not properly holding its own staff to account when they find evidence of illegality,” said Benjamin Wood, legal director at the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice.
While vendors are often navigating permits. fines. and enforcement decisions. advocates say the fear runs deeper—especially in a state where the legal landscape for street vending has changed. California decriminalized street vending during President Trump’s first term over fears that vendors would face immigration consequences for trying to earn a living. The law leaves it up to cities to create policies for permitting and regulation. Wood said some jurisdictions treated decriminalization as permission to add new restrictions.
He pointed to the city of Fontana. which is facing a lawsuit on behalf of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice alleging the city adopted unlawfully restrictive ordinances and hired a third-party code enforcement contractor whose staff members have harassed vendors and improperly seized their property. “Each city is its own battle, which I don’t think was the intention of [the law],” Wood said.
Shannon Camacho. senior policy associate at Inclusive Action for the City. said Riverside needs to commit to improving its sidewalk vending ordinance and code enforcement protocols. Vendors across California live in fear of immigration enforcement. Camacho said. and it can be especially confusing and scary when code enforcement officers appear to act aggressively—particularly when the investigation alleges the Riverside officers wore paramilitary-style uniforms.
Such conduct, she said, can cause vendors to lose trust in their local government and be afraid to apply for permits and licenses. “Even though this is a specific investigation in the city of Riverside, the consequences of this behavior by code enforcement reverberate throughout the state.”
City leaders say they are moving toward a broader fix. Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said the Community and Economic Development Department has been plagued by dysfunction for more than a decade and must be thoroughly reviewed by an outside management consultant. “I want to be clear that the city of Riverside doesn’t condone this behavior. but we are responsible for fixing the situation that led to it. ” she said at the June 9 City Council meeting.
City management is working to act on that request. City spokesperson Phil Pitchford wrote in an email that the city is moving forward with engaging outside experts to review the department, including its culture, operations, policies, and procedures, and develop recommendations.
Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes also requested that a council committee review past fines and fees issued to vendors. as well as the rules of engagement for code enforcement officers. That meeting has tentatively been scheduled for Aug. 20. according to Community and Economic Development Director Miranda Evans. who was permanently appointed to the role last week after serving as interim director since February.
Evans wrote in an email that she received the investigative report last month and took action. conducting a review of the findings and identifying opportunities for improvement. She said code enforcement staff are currently documenting all training activities and are focused on strengthening team culture and rebuilding public trust.
Torres said he was disappointed Riverside officials did not make the report public upon receiving it last summer. The city didn’t issue the final discipline in connection with the matter until April 7, Pitchford said, meaning the investigation remained open until that point.
The coalition’s demands are immediate and concrete: it has called on the city to void code citations issued to vendors during the alleged misconduct and refund related fines and fees. and to either return improperly seized property or pay restitution. Torres also believes Mayor Lock Dawson should hold a roundtable discussion to hear directly from vendors about how they’ve been treated and create policy based on those experiences.
In the meantime, Torres and others said the city should place a moratorium on code enforcement actions against street vendors. “We’re hoping we can start rebuilding that trust with the community,” Torres said, “and also work with the city to make sure this never happens again.”
Riverside street vendors code enforcement Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice Eddie Torres Mark Ilagan Mark Hernandez Chris Christopoulos Jennifer Lilley Miranda Evans Clarissa Cervantes Patricia Lock Dawson Community and Economic Development Department