CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
May 2, 2022
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Michael Ellis, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING INTRODUCING AN ORDINANCE ENACTING A MILITARY EQUIPMENT USE POLICY AS REQUIRED BY ASSEMBLY BILL 481 RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
Conduct public hearing and receive public testimony; and Introduce, waive further and give first reading to the following ordinance (Attachment No. 1):
ORDINANCE NO. 4316 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 14 ("EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND EMERGENCY SERVICES") OF THE CITY OF POMONA CITY CODE BY ADDING DIVISION 5 ("MILITARY EQUIPMENT USE POLICY") TO ARTICLE IV ("POLICE DEPARTMENT"), GOVERNING THE USE OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT BY THE POMONA POLICE DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Assembly Bill 481 ("AB 481") went into effect on January 1, 2022, and requires a law enforcement agency to obtain approval of its governing body to enact a military equipment use policy ("policy") before purchasing, using, raising funds for, or acquiring military equipment. AB 481 requires the policy be submitted to the City Council and posted on the City's website 30 days before a public hearing where the policy will be considered and adopted by ordinance. The proposed policy being presented to the City Council satisfies the requirements of AB 481 and has been posted on the City's website for the required 30 days for public review and inspection. Also, as mandated by AB 481, a "well-publicized and conveniently located community engagement meeting" was held during the April 19, 2022 Police Oversight Commission meeting to allow for public discussion and input on the proposed policy.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No Fiscal Impact at this time.
PUBLIC NOTICING REQUIREMENTS:
A notice of the public hearing (Attachment No. 2) was sent to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin with the publication date of April 22, 2022.
DISCUSSION:
On September 30, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 481, which added Chapter 12.8, "Funding, Acquisition and Use of Military Equipment," to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code (Sections 7070 – 7075). This new legislation relates to the use of military equipment by California law enforcement agencies. It provides transparency and oversight along with public input on the decisions of how military equipment is funded, acquired, or used by these same agencies.
State Legislature also found and declared the following when adopting AB 481:
“(a) The acquisition of military equipment and its deployment in our communities adversely impacts the public’s safety and welfare, including increased risk of civilian deaths, significant risks to civil rights, civil liberties, and physical and psychological well-being, and incurment of significant financial costs. Military equipment is more frequently deployed in low-income Black and Brown communities, meaning the risks and impacts of police militarization are experienced most acutely in marginalized communities. (b) The public has a right to know about any funding, acquisition, or use of military equipment by state or local government officials, as well as a right to participate in any government agency’s decision to fund, acquire, or use such equipment. (c) Decisions regarding whether and how military equipment is funded, acquired, or used should give strong consideration to the public’s welfare, safety, civil rights, and civil liberties, and should be based on meaningful public input. (d) Legally enforceable safeguards, including transparency, oversight, and accountability measures, must be in place to protect the public’s welfare, safety, civil rights, and civil liberties before military equipment is funded, acquired, or used. (e) The lack of a public forum to discuss the acquisition of military equipment jeopardizes the relationship police have with the community, which can be undermined when law enforcement is seen as an occupying force rather than a public safety service.” (Attachment No. 3) AB 481 requires the governing body that oversees a law enforcement agency to approve an ordinance adopting a military equipment use policy at a regular meeting of the governing body held in accordance with the Brown Act. "Military equipment" includes, but is not limited to, armored or weaponized vehicles, large-caliber firearms, explosive projectile launchers, explosive breaching tools, or "flashbang" grenades.
The ordinance must be adopted before the law enforcement agency may request, seek funds, acquire, collaborate to deploy, use, or solicit a proposal for any type of military equipment. The governing body's ordinance must include certain standards of approval, including:
A. The military equipment is necessary because there is no reasonable alternative that can achieve the same objective of officer and civilian safety.
B. The proposed military equipment use policy will safeguard the public's welfare, safety, civil rights, and civil liberties.
C. If purchasing the equipment, the equipment is reasonably cost effective compared to available alternatives that can achieve the same objective of officer and civilian safety.
D. Prior military equipment use complied with the military equipment use policy that was in effect at the time, or if prior uses did not comply with the accompanying military equipment use policy, corrective action has been taken to remedy nonconforming uses and ensure future compliance.
In addition to hosting the military equipment use policy on the law enforcement agency's website, each agency must submit an annual military equipment report to the governing body detailing the equipment used in the preceding year. This report must include a summary of how the equipment was used, a summary of complaints received, the result of any internal audit and actions taken in response, the total annual cost and the quantity possessed of each type of military equipment, and any additional equipment the agency intends to acquire in the next year. Each year the governing body must review the annual report and determine whether each type of military equipment identified in that report has complied with the standards for approval set forth above and vote on whether to renew it, in accordance with Government Code Section 7071(e)(2).
Each submittal and public release of an annual military equipment report will also require law enforcement agencies to "hold at least one well-publicized and conveniently located community engagement meeting," as described in Government Code Section 7072 (b). These community engagement meetings will give members of the public the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the annual military equipment report and also the agency's use of military equipment, funding, and acquisition.
AB 481 requires that the military equipment use policy must include the following information (Attachment No. 4):
1. A description of each type of military equipment, the quantity sought, its capabilities, expected lifespan, and product descriptions from the manufacturer of the military equipment.
2. The purposes and authorized uses for which the law enforcement agency or the state agency proposes to use each type of military equipment.
3. The fiscal impact of each type of military equipment, including the initial costs of obtaining the equipment and estimated annual costs of maintaining the equipment.
4. The legal and procedural rules that govern each authorized use.
5. The training, including any course required by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, that must be completed before any officer, agent, or employee of the law enforcement agency or the state agency is allowed to use each specific type of military equipment to ensure the full protection of the public's welfare, safety, civil rights, and civil liberties and full adherence to the military equipment use policy.
6. The mechanisms to ensure compliance with the military equipment use policy, including which independent persons or entities have oversight authority, and, if applicable, what legally enforceable sanctions are put in place for violations of the policy.
7. The procedures by which members of the public may register complaints or concerns or submit questions about the use of each specific type of military equipment, and how the law enforcement agency will ensure that each complaint, concern, or question receives a response in a timely manner.
Prepared by:
_____________________________
Steve Congalton
Police Lieutenant
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment No. 1 – Proposed Ordinance No. 4316
Attachment No. 2 – Public Hearing Notice
Attachment No. 3 – AB 481 Legislation
Attachment No. 4 – Pomona Police Department Military Equipment Inventory Attachment No. 5 – AB 481 Presentation
Proposed Military Equipment Use Policy