Assembly Bill 481 – Military Equipment
Funding, acquisition, and use.
April 16, 2024
Assembly Bill 481 (Exhibit 1)
Requires Law Enforcement Agency to:
Obtain approval of City Council for
Funding, acquisition, and use of specified military equipment Adoption of a military equipment use policy (Ordinance #4255 – Exhibit 3) Create a policy for use (Lexipol – Exhibit 2)
Requires City Council to:
Annually:
Review the Ordinance
Review military equipment use report completed by Law Enforcement Agency Approve continued use
Assembly Bill 481
No 1033 Equipment
Necessary to be properly prepared to respond to emergent situations Consistent with that possessed by similar sized agencies Used for official purposes and in a manner that is consistent with State and Federal law Complaint procedures – PSU contact info on PD website / WC Per AB481 - Report addresses (Exhibit 4):
Description
Purpose
Fiscal Impact / Associated Costs
Training
Notable Uses for 2023:
04-16-23 Arrest of attempted burglary suspect. Pepperball projectiles were fired to gain compliance from a resistant suspect. 04-29-23 Arrest of felony suspect barricaded in a vehicle following a pursuit. 40mm projectiles were used to break out the window and pepperball projectiles were fired to force the suspect out. Another 40mm projectile was fired to gain compliance from a resistant suspect. 05-15-23 Arrest of felony warrant suspect. Pepperball projectiles were fired to gain compliance from a resistant suspect. 10-22-23 SWAT team activation for barricaded felony assault suspect. 40mm projectiles were used to break windows, allowing the ability to introduce pepperball projectiles, which forced the suspect to leave his barricaded position. 11-09-23 Suspect refused to exit vehicle after stopped for CVC violations and reckless driving. Suspect had numerous priors for resisting officers and criminal threats. A 40mm projectile was used to break out a vehicle window to gain compliance. 12-26-23 Suspects refused to exit a stolen vehicle after a pursuit. A 40mm projectile was used to break out a vehicle window and pepperball projectiles were fired into the vehicle to force the suspects to surrender.
Other Notables:
Force was used sixty-seven (67) times, while handling approx. 84,000 calls (less than once per thousand calls handled) Military equipment in the form of projectiles were only used during six (6) of those incidents (Approx. once every 14,000 calls handled) The Department is in the process of procuring funding to replace an additional 90 aging Daniel Defense and Bushmaster patrol rifles that have been in use for the last 8-10 years. They are at or approaching their expected lifespan.
Of note is a significant increase in UAS (Drone) deployments, from 22 in 2022 (May through December) to 132 in 2023. The usefulness of this tool to enhance public safety for modern day law enforcement has proven invaluable. As a result, the Department is in the process of reviewing the feasibility of deploying a Drone First Responder (DFR) program, which would enable us the ability to deploy drones remotely from designated launching pads throughout the City. This capability would provide us the ability to more expeditiously respond to emergency calls for service, even arriving prior to patrol officers.
Questions?