Att D-SHPD Policy 706 - Military Equipment — Signal Hill City Council, August 26, 2025

Policy
706
Signal Hill Police Department
Signal Hill PD Policy Manual
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Published with permission by Signal Hill Police Department Military Equipment - 1
Military Equipment
706.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for the approval, acquisition, and reporting requirements of military equipment (Government Code § 7070; Government Code § 7071; Government Code § 7072).
706.1.1 DEFINITIONS
Definitions related to this policy include (Government Code § 7070):

Governing body – The elected or appointed body that oversees the Department.

Military equipment – Includes but is not limited to the following:
• Unmanned, remotely piloted, powered aerial or ground vehicles. • Mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles or armored personnel carriers. • High mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV), two-and-one-half-ton trucks, five-ton trucks, or wheeled vehicles that have a breaching or entry apparatus attached. • Tracked armored vehicles that provide ballistic protection to their occupants. • Command and control vehicles that are either built or modified to facilitate the operational control and direction of public safety units. • Weaponized aircraft, vessels, or vehicles of any kind. • Battering rams, slugs, and breaching apparatuses that are explosive in nature. This does not include a handheld, one-person ram.
• Firearms and ammunition of_.50 caliber or greater, excluding standard-issue shotguns and standard-issue shotgun ammunition.
• Specialized firearms and ammunition of less than_.50 caliber, including firearms and accessories identified as assault weapons in Penal Code § 30510 and Penal Code § 30515, with the exception of standard-issue firearms.
• Any firearm or firearm accessory that is designed to launch explosive projectiles. • Noise-flash diversionary devices and explosive breaching tools. • Munitions containing tear gas or OC, excluding standard, service-issued handheld pepper spray.
• Area denial electroshock devices, microwave weapons, water cannons, long-range acoustic devices (LRADs), acoustic hailing devices, and sound cannons. • Kinetic energy weapons and munitions.
• Any other equipment as determined by a governing body or a state agency to require additional oversight.

Signal Hill Police Department
Signal Hill PD Policy Manual
Military Equipment
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Published with permission by Signal Hill Police Department Military Equipment - 2
706.2 POLICY
It is the policy of the Signal Hill Police Department that members of this department comply with the provisions of Government Code § 7071 with respect to military equipment. 706.3 MILITARY EQUIPMENT COORDINATOR
The Chief of Police should designate a member of this department to act as the military equipment coordinator. The responsibilities of the military equipment coordinator include but are not limited to:
(a) Acting as liaison to the governing body for matters related to the requirements of this policy.
(b) Identifying department equipment that qualifies as military equipment in the current possession of the Department, or the equipment the Department intends to acquire that requires approval by the governing body.
(c) Conducting an inventory of all military equipment at least annually. (d) Collaborating with any allied agency that may use military equipment within the jurisdiction of Signal Hill Police Department (Government Code § 7071). (e) Preparing for, scheduling, and coordinating the annual community engagement meeting to include:

1. Publicizing the details of the meeting.

2. Preparing for public questions regarding the department’s funding, acquisition, and use of equipment.
(f) Preparing the annual military equipment report for submission to the Chief of Police and ensuring that the report is made available on the department website (Government Code § 7072).
(g) Establishing the procedure for a person to register a complaint or concern, or how that person may submit a question about the use of a type of military equipment, and how the Department will respond in a timely manner.
706.4 MILITARY EQUIPMENT INVENTORY
The following constitutes a list of qualifying equipment for the Department:

See attachment: AB 481 ANNUAL REPORT.pdf
706.5 APPROVAL
The Chief of Police or the authorized designee shall obtain approval from the governing body by way of an ordinance adopting the military equipment policy. As part of the approval process, the Chief of Police or the authorized designee shall ensure the proposed military equipment policy is submitted to the governing body and is available on the department website at least 30 days prior to any public hearing concerning the military equipment at issue (Government Code § 7071). The military equipment policy must be approved by the governing body prior to engaging in any of the following (Government Code § 7071):

Signal Hill Police Department
Signal Hill PD Policy Manual
Military Equipment
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Published with permission by Signal Hill Police Department Military Equipment - 3
(a) Requesting military equipment made available pursuant to 10 USC § 2576a. (b) Seeking funds for military equipment, including but not limited to applying for a grant, soliciting or accepting private, local, state, or federal funds, in-kind donations, or other donations or transfers.
(c) Acquiring military equipment either permanently or temporarily, including by borrowing or leasing.
(d) Collaborating with another law enforcement agency in the deployment or other use of military equipment within the jurisdiction of this department. (e) Using any new or existing military equipment for a purpose, in a manner, or by a person not previously approved by the governing body.
(f) Soliciting or responding to a proposal for, or entering into an agreement with, any other person or entity to seek funds for, apply to receive, acquire, use, or collaborate in the use of military equipment.
(g) Acquiring military equipment through any means not provided above. 706.6 COORDINATION WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS
Military equipment should not be used by any other law enforcement agency or member in this jurisdiction unless the military equipment is approved for use in accordance with this policy.

Military equipment deployed or used by other jurisdictions that are providing mutual aid to this jurisdiction shall comply with their respective military equipment use policies when rendering assistance. Situations may arise where Signal Hill Police Department may deploy or use military equipment owned by other law enforcement agencies.

If the Department is in another jurisdiction under mutual aid or operational collaboration circumstances, Department members are required to adhere to the City of Signal Hill's Military Equipment Use Policy and all applicable Department policies and procedures, regardless of the operational jurisdiction.
706.6.1 USE IN EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES
In exigent circumstances and with the approval of the Chief of Police or his/her designee, the Department may acquire, borrow and/or use Military Equipment that is not included in the Military Equipment Use Policy.

If the Police Department acquires, borrows, and/or uses Military Equipment in an Exigent Circumstance, in accordance with this section, it must take all of the following actions:
- Provide written notice of that acquisition or use to the City Council within 30 days following the commencement of such Exigent Circumstance, unless such information is confidential or privileged under local, state or federal law.
- If it is anticipated that the use will continue beyond the Exigent Circumstance, submit a proposed amended Military Equipment Use Policy to the City Council within 90 days following the borrowing, acquisition and/or use, and receive approval, as applicable, from the City Council.

Signal Hill Police Department
Signal Hill PD Policy Manual
Military Equipment
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- Include the Military Equipment in the Department's next annual Military Equipment Report. 706.7 ANNUAL REPORT
Upon approval of a military equipment policy, the Chief of Police or the authorized designee should submit a military equipment report to the governing body for each type of military equipment approved within one year of approval, and annually thereafter for as long as the military equipment is available for use (Government Code § 7072).

The Chief of Police or the authorized designee should also make each annual military equipment report publicly available on the department website for as long as the military equipment is available for use. The report shall include all information required by Government Code § 7072 for the preceding calendar year for each type of military equipment in department inventory. 706.8 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Within 30 days of submitting and publicly releasing the annual report, the Department shall hold at least one well-publicized and conveniently located community engagement meeting, at which the Department should discuss the report and respond to public questions regarding the funding, acquisition, or use of military equipment.

Signal Hill PD Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2025/08/14, All Rights Reserved.

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Attachments
Attachment
Signal Hill PD Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2025/08/14, All Rights Reserved.

Published with permission by Signal Hill Police Department AB 481 ANNUAL REPORT.pdf - 6
AB 481 ANNUAL REPORT.pdf
AB 481 ANNUAL REPORT.pdf
Signal Hill Police Department
AB481 – Annual Report Issued 8/14/2025
AB 481 Annual Report
AB 481 requires law enforcement agencies to obtain the approval of its governing body to enact a military equipment use policy before purchasing, raising funds for, or acquiring military equipment. An initial policy must be passed via ordinance and renewed by a vote of the Council each year. AB 481 provides an expansive definition of “military equipment” that includes many items which law enforcement agencies use, deploy, and obtain on a regular basis. The law enforcement agency is required to return annually to provide an Annual Report to the governing body and the public at large.

On June 28th, 2022, the City Council for the City of Signal Hill adopted Ordinance NO. 2022-06-1535 adopting a Military Equipment Use Policy governing the law enforcement’s use of items that are deemed “military equipment” under AB 481. Since then, Signal Hill Police Department has successfully maintained the military equipment in accordance with the policy. This Annual Report will provide a summary as required by Government Code section 7072(a).

The following constitutes the SHPD’s Annual Report:
(a) Colt M4 223 Caliber 6920mps-b Rifle 16”

1. Use of Equipment: November 2024