O27211
City Council Meeting September 27, 2022 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2721 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
APPROVING A MILITARY EQUIPMENT USE POLICY IN COMPLIANCE
WITH ASSEMBLY BILL 481
WHEREAS, on September 30, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law
Assembly Bill (AB) 481, codified in California Government Code sections 7070 et
seq., relating to the use of military equipment by California law enforcement
agencies; and
WHEREAS, AB 481 seeks to provide transparency, oversight, and an opportunity
for meaningful public input on decisions regarding whether and how military equipment
is funded, acquired, or used; and
WHEREAS, AB 481 requires that a law enforcement agency possessing and
using such qualifying equipment prepare a publicly released, written, military equipment
use policy document covering the inventory, description, purpose, use, acquisition,
maintenance, fiscal impacts, procedures, training, oversight, and complaint process,
applicable to the law enforcement agency’s use of such equipment; and
WHEREAS, AB 481 requires that the military equipment use policy be approved
by the governing body by ordinance and reviewed annually; and
WHEREAS, AB 481 provides that in order for a law enforcement agency to
continue to use any military equipment acquired prior to January 1 2021, the governing
body must commence the approval process of a military equipment use policy prior to
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May 1, 2022 and approve such a policy within 180 days of its submission to the
governing body; and
WHEREAS, the Santa Monica Police Department is in possession of certain
items of equipment that qualify as “military equipment” as defined by AB 481; and
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 7071(b) requires that the Santa Monica
Police Department post to its website the Military Equipment Use Policy that it plans to
propose to the City Council, at least 30 days prior to any public hearing concerning the
policy; and
WHEREAS, on March 25, 2022, the Santa Monica Police Department posted its
draft Military Equipment Use Policy to its public website, thereby complying with the 30-
day posting requirement prior to a public hearing before City Council on April 26, 2022;
and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica, having received the
information required under AB 481 regarding the Santa Monica Police Department’s use
of military equipment as defined by that law, deems it to be in the best interest of the
City to approve the Military Equipment Policy as set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. As used in this Ordinance, the following terms have
the following meanings.
(A) “Governing body” means the means the elected body that oversees the
Police Department, which, here, is City Council of the City of Santa
Monica.
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(B) “Military equipment” has the same meaning as that term is defined by
Government Code section 7070(c) and includes all of the following:
(1) Unmanned, remotely piloted, powered aerial or ground vehicles.
(2) Mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles or armored
personnel carriers. However, police versions of standard consumer
vehicles are specifically excluded from this subdivision.
(3) High mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV), commonly
referred to as Humvees, two and one-half-ton trucks, five-ton
trucks, or wheeled vehicles that have a breaching or entry
apparatus attached. However, unarmored all-terrain vehicles
(ATVs) and motorized dirt bikes are specifically excluded from this
subdivision.
(4) Tracked armored vehicles that provide ballistic protection to their
occupants and utilize a tracked system instead of wheels for
forward motion.
(5) Command and control vehicles that are either built or modified to
facilitate the operational control and direction of public safety units.
(6) Weaponized aircraft, vessels, or vehicles of any kind.
(7) Battering rams, slugs, and breaching apparatuses that are
explosive in nature. However, items designed to remove a lock,
such as bolt cutters, or a handheld ram designed to be operated by
one person, are specifically excluded from this subdivision.
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(8) Firearms of .50 caliber or greater. However, standard issue
shotguns are specifically excluded from this subdivision.
(9) Ammunition of .50 caliber or greater. However, standard issue
shotgun ammunition is specifically excluded from this subdivision.
(10) Specialized firearms and ammunition of less than .50 caliber,
including assault weapons as defined in Sections 30510 and 30515
of the Penal Code, with the exception of standard issue service
weapons and ammunition of less than .50 caliber that are issued to
officers, agents, or employees of a law enforcement agency or a
state agency.
(11) Any firearm or firearm accessory that is designed to launch
explosive projectiles.
(12) “Flashbang” grenades and explosive breaching tools, “tear gas,”
and “pepper balls,” excluding standard, service-issued handheld
pepper spray.
(13) Taser Shockwave, microwave weapons, water cannons, and the
Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD).
(14) The following projectile launch platforms and their associated
munitions: 40mm projectile launchers, “bean bag,” rubber bullet,
and specialty impact munition (SIM) weapons.
(15) Any other equipment as determined by a governing body or a state
agency to require additional oversight.
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(16) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) through (15), “military equipment”
does not include general equipment not designated as prohibited or
controlled by the federal Defense Logistics Agency.
(C) “Military equipment use policy” means a publicly released, written
document governing the use of military equipment by a law enforcement
agency or a state agency that addresses, at a minimum, all of the
following:
(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
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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) For a law enforcement agency, 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.
(D) “Police Department” means any division, section, bureau, employee,
volunteer or contractor of the Santa Monica Police Department.
(E) “Policy 707” means the Police Department’s Policy 707 Military
Equipment, attached hereto as Exhibit 1.
(F) “Type” means each item that shares the same manufacturer model
number.
SECTION 2. DETERMINATIONS; FINDINGS
(A) Policy 707 satisfies the requirements of a military equipment use policy, as
defined in Section 1(C) above and Government Code section 7070(d).
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(B) Having considered Policy 707 and the information provided to the City
Council at the public hearing, the City Council makes the following
determinations required by Government Code 7071(d)(1):
(1) The military equipment inventoried and presented to City Council
through Policy 707 is necessary because there is no reasonable
alternative that can achieve the same objective of officer and civilian
safety.
(2) Policy 707 will safeguard the public’s welfare, safety, civil rights,
and civil liberties.
(3) The military equipment is reasonably cost effective compared to
available alternatives that can achieve the same objective of officer
and civilian safety.
(4) 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.
SECTION 3. APPROVAL; REVIEW
(A) The City Council approves Policy 707.
(B) Policy 707 shall remain publicly available on the Police Department’s
website for as long as the military equipment is available for use.
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(C) The City Council shall review this Ordinance, and vote on whether to
renew it, on an annual basis at a regular meeting, in accordance with
Government Code section 7071.
SECTION 4. ANNUAL REPORTS ON THE USE OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT
(A) The Police Department shall submit a military equipment report to the City
Council on an annual basis, containing the information required by and in
accordance with Government Code Section 7072.
(B) The Police Department shall make each annual military equipment report
required by this section available to the Public Safety Reform and
Oversight Commission and publicly available on its internet website for as
long as the military equipment is available for use.
(C) Within 30 days of submitting and publicly releasing an annual military
equipment report pursuant to this section, the Police Department shall
hold at least one well-publicized and conveniently located community
engagement meeting, at which the general public may discuss and ask
questions regarding the annual military equipment report and the Police
Department’s funding, acquisition, or use of military equipment.
(D) The City Council shall determine, based on the annual military equipment
report submitted pursuant to this section, whether each type of military
equipment identified in that report has complied with the standards for
approval set forth in Section 2(B) above and Government Code section
7071(d). If the City Council determines that a type of military equipment
identified in the annual military equipment report has not complied with the
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standards for approval set forth in Section 2(B) above and Government
Code section 7071(d), the City Council shall either disapprove a renewal
of the authorization for that type of military equipment or require
modifications to Policy 707 in a manner that will resolve the lack of
compliance.
SECTION 5. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court
of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the Ordinance
would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 6. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of
this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official
newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30
days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
Douglas Sloan, City Attorney
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Approved and adopted this 27th day of September, 2022.
_____________________________
Sue Himmelrich, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Nikima Newsome, Assistant City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2721 (CCS) had its introduction
on April 22, 2022 and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting
held on September 27, 2022, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Brock, Davis, de la Torre, Negrete, Parra,
Mayor Himmelrich
NOES: None
ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem McCowan
ATTEST:
_____________________________________ _________________
Nikima Newsome, Assistant City Clerk Date
A summary of Ordinance No. 2721 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
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10/7/2022