CALIFORNIA CITY — The City Council, tonight, will consider an ordinance regarding how the California City Police Department uses, funds and acquires military equipment.
The ordinance would bring the department and the city into compliance with state law, passed, in 2021.
To comply with that law, any law enforcement agency seeking to use any military equipment, as defined by the law, must adopt a military equipment policy at a regular public meeting, according to the staff report.
Military equipment, in this case, does not necessarily mean military surplus, but instead, is a type of equipment.
In the case of Cal City, the Department has three pieces of equipment that were acquired from the military. One is an armored personnel carrier acquired, in 2014, along with five Humvees acquired, in 2009. Additionally, the Department has 15 rifles obtained, in 2010 and 2021.
Other equipment owned by the department that falls under the category of military equipment, but which were not obtained through the military, are ammunition of .50 caliber or greater; “flashbang” grenades and explosive breaching tools, tear gas and pepper balls; and bean bag, rubber bullet and other projectile launchers.
In approving the policy through ordinance, the City Council determines that there are no other reasonable alternatives that will meet the same needs for the department, that the policy will safeguard public welfare, safety, civil rights and civil liberties and that the equipment is reasonably cost-effective.
Under the policy, the department must receive Council approval before purchasing or otherwise obtaining any military equipment. It also must provide an inventory of such equipment and an annual report regarding all such equipment in the inventory.
The Council will meet at 6 p.m., in the Council Chambers at 21000 Hacienda Blvd.
(1) comment
Cal City is rotting fast...and they want to buy toys...? lol lol Lets Go Brandon . Although in the future "all politicians" may be required to use military vehicles.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.