The Signal Hill City Council approved an ordinance allowing the police department to use military-grade weapons, including rifles, launchers and smoke grenades at its Tuesday, May 24 meeting.
The Signal Hill City Council agendized the military equipment use policy for its first reading on Tuesday, presented by Signal Hill Police Chief Carl Charles.
The ordinance will allow officers to use their current inventory of military-grade weapons and post the complete list of equipment on the department’s website.
As a part of a statewide law, the military equipment use policy also known as Assembly Bill 481 (AB 481) authorizes the Department of Defense to transfer surplus equipment to federal or state agencies for use in law enforcement activities.
This bill requires law enforcement agencies to obtain approval from their governing body by adopting the policy as an ordinance to either buy or continue using military-grade equipment.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved AB 481, or the Military Equipment Use Policy law, which took effect in January 2022, to “provide transparency, oversight, and an opportunity for public input on decisions regarding whether and how military equipment is funded, acquired, or used,” according to the bill.
The military-grade weapons and equipment currently held by SHPD include:
- 12 semi-automatic rifles
- 7,000 rounds of Winchester .223 Remington ammunition
- 11 submachine guns
- 1 grenade launcher
- 50 smoke grenades
- 270 rounds of less-lethal shotgun and bean bag munitions
There was no public comment.
Councilmember Edward Wilson asked for a clarification regarding the military equipment stocked, wondering if police could acquire new equipment any time in the calendar year.
Charles said the police did not request additional equipment besides what was already available from past purchases.
The police must seek approval from the council to authorize additional equipment purchases. If such a request was made, a meeting would be held the following year with a revised military equipment list to align with the changes.
The chief of police will also hire a command staff member or civilian manager to serve as the military equipment coordinator—a committee liaison in charge of preparing annual military reports, coordinating community engagement and identifying inventory in the department.
The policy will be made publicly available on the Signal Hill Police Department website for as long as the covered military equipment is available.
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