Signal Hill City Council will hold a public hearing on June 28 to consider adopting a policy that would require law enforcement agencies to obtain approval from the council to purchase or use military-grade equipment.
The California legislature passed Assembly Bill 481 in September 2021, which requires any law enforcement agency to obtain approval from a government body for the funding, acquisition or use of military equipment. The bill came into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.
This policy must be codified via the adoption of a formal military equipment use policy, such as the one being considered by the Signal Hill City Council.
According to the legislation’s summary, the bill is intended to provide “transparency,” to protect the “public’s welfare, safety, civil rights, and civil liberties.”
The bill also directs SHPD to address points within the policy revolving around the military equipment usage, consideration of public safety and cost-effectiveness when determining whether the purchase or use of an item needs to be approved by the council.
If the policy is approved, a finalized version of the military equipment use policy will remain available on the SHPD website for the time the military equipment is available for use.
If the city council approves the policy, SHPD will be required to file an annual military equipment report for “each type of military equipment” approved by the City, according to the bill.
“The police department uses what would be considered assault weapons, MP5 [submachine guns], weapons that are traditionally used by the military,” Police Chief Carl Charles said.
The annual report by SHPD might contain provisions for military equipment like quantity, usage, purpose, results from internal audits, any information about violations of the military equipment use policy and the total annual cost for each piece of equipment—including acquisition, personnel, training, transportation, maintenance, storage, upgrade and other ongoing costs.
Defined by the bill, military equipment includes but is not limited to: armored or weaponized vehicles, firearms of .50 caliber or greater, explosive projectile launchers and their associated munitions, rubber bullets, or breaching tools, tear gas and “flashbang” grenades.
Within 30 days of submitting the annual report, SHPD must hold at least one “well-publicized” and “conveniently” located community engagement meeting for the public to discuss and ask questions regarding the report.
Signal Hill City Council meetings will be held in person at Signal Hill City Hall every second and fourth Tuesday at 7 p.m. beginning on June 14. Meetings will shift to a hybrid system to continue utilizing online alternatives via Zoom for participants.
