The union that represents Riverside County Sheriff's Department employees has recommended to its members that they avoid the Soboba Casino during off-hours, citing safety concerns after recent fatal shootings involving tribal members and deputies.

The e-mail, which was sent Thursday as an alert to union members, also recommends that the public avoid the casino as well.

Rose Salgado, a member of the Soboba Tribal Council, said via e-mail that the tribe does not want the public drawn into a dispute between deputies and the tribe.

"We understand that this has become a political agenda and we are only committed to reporting the facts. The recent tragic events were unrelated to the Casino and had no impact on the safety or welfare of either Casino patrons or employees," the e-mail says.

"It is not productive to have an outside agency such as the Riverside County Sheriff's Association hinder the process of mediation between the Tribe, the United States Department of Justice, and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department -- an agency that they are supposed to be helping not alienating," the e-mail adds.

The notice sent by the Riverside Sheriffs' Association, which represents about 3,700 deputies, corrections deputies, district attorney's investigators and coroner's office employees, stated:

"Due to the recent violence against Riverside County Deputy Sheriff's, and a concern that the situation remains unstable for RSA members as well as the general public, RSA is recommending that its members and the general public avoid the Soboba Casino for their off-duty leisurely activities."

The alert recommended members and the public utilize other casinos.

Chairman Not Concerned

Tribal Chairman Robert "Bobby" Salgado said he was not concerned with the union's action and believes it will have little impact on casino business.

"Gamblers are gamblers," Salgado said. "There was a shooting in Vegas a few years back, and it didn't stop the people from gambling."

Riverside County Sheriff Stanley Sniff said he understands that the association is trying to reflect the concerns of its membership but the action by the deputies union is not the department's position.

He said the priority is to continue discussions between the department and the tribe. He characterized the talks as positive.

"I can't control the actions of others," Sniff said. "I can say we are committed to improving relations."

Tribal officials have been meeting with representatives of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department -- meetings that have been facilitated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of Justice -- in an effort to ease tensions after two shooting incidents that left three people dead. Relations between the 900-member tribe and the department have been strained but officials on both sides say the rhetoric has been toned down since they started meeting.

Riverside Sheriffs' Association President Pat McNamara said Friday that the union's 24-member board voted unanimously on May 21 to issue the membership alert based on concerns for the safety of those who patronize the casino. He declined to call the action a boycott.

"We were responding to concerns members have voiced to us," he said.

McNamara said the union does not plan to take further action to spread the message of the alert. He said members and the union come in contact with the public every day, and the topic will likely be discussed.

McNamara could not say what needed to happen for the union's position to change.

"When those concerns are alleviated, it will be as apparent as the violence," he said.

On May 12, deputies killed Joseph Arres, 36, and Tamara Angela Hurtado, 29, in a gunbattle in a remote part of the reservation. The two tribal members were shot multiple times by SWAT officers, who said they had been fired upon by one of the two. Nine deputies fired their weapons in that incident, authorities said.

Four days earlier, deputies had shot and killed 26-year-old Eli Morillo after they had gone to investigate gunfire on a remote part of the reservation and found themselves under attack, authorities said. Five deputies fired in the first shooting.

Rose Salgado, contacted by telephone Friday, described the shootings as isolated incidents that do not reflect the tribe's contribution to the community. She pointed out that the tribe's casino employs more than 1,000 people and has given millions of dollars to the community over the years.

Supervisor's Criticism

The tribe is also finding itself at odds with 3rd District Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, who on Thursday called for a change of tribal leadership and suggested the violence could be a repeated if that does not take place. Stone, whose district includes the reservation, told about 150 people who had gathered in San Jacinto that violence connected with the reservation is nothing new. Stone suggested that part of the problem is tribal leadership, which he said needs to be more sophisticated in the way it does its job.

Correcting the problem, he said, "might require a change in leadership."

McNamara said the union is not concerned about whom the tribe elects to leadership positions, only that those individuals take the responsibility of their roles seriously.

Robert Salgado said Stone's remarks were unfortunate, but will not change the tribe's plan to meet with Sheriff's Department officials and continue to work toward a solution.

"Everyone has their own agenda," he said. "... We are not going to let words get us riled up. We have better things to do."

Contact Jose Arballo Jr. at 951-368-9280 or jarballo@PE.com