DATE:
April 26, 2022 and May 10, 2022
29
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
NOTICED PUBLIC HEARING:
DISTRICT ATTORNEY - AN ORDINANCE ADDING ARTICLE LXIV TITLED DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND NEW SECTION 955 OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY CODE OF ADMINISTRATIVE ORDINANCES FOR APPROVAL OF THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION MILITARY EQUIPMENT USE POLICY (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
On September 30, 2021, Governor Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 481 (AB 481). Assembly Bill 481 is intended to increase transparency, accountability, and oversight surrounding the acquisition and use by state and local law enforcement agencies of equipment the state has identified as "military equipment." AB 481 states that no later than May 1, 2022, a law enforcement agency seeking to continue the use of any military equipment that was acquired prior to January 1, 2022, shall commence a governing body approval process in accordance with this section. Today's request seeks this approval.
Governing body approval under AB 481 must take the form of an ordinance adopting a publicly released, written military equipment use policy, which must address a number of specific topics, including the type, quantity, capabilities, purposes, and authorized uses of each type of equipment, the fiscal impact of their acquisition and use, the legal and procedural rules that govern their use, the training required by any officer allowed to use them, the mechanisms in place to ensure policy compliance, and the procedures by which the public may register complaints.
The District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation currently owns equipment that falls under the identified types as defined in AB 481. The listed equipment is used to assist in de-escalation, firearms training, education and court related expert testimony, and to enhance officer safety and public safety when conducting enforcement action. The equipment increases the safety of law enforcement personnel an...
Click here for full text