The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has at its disposal several pieces of military-grade equipment to use during the myriad emergency incidents that occur throughout the year.

This ranges from armored vehicles to pepper-ball launchers to drones.

And now, all of that equipment is subject to Assembly Bill 481, which became law on Jan. 1. Under the law, law enforcement agencies must get approval from their governing bodies before acquiring military equipment. 

In addition, police departments must create a military equipment use policy—subject to approval by the governing body—and publish the policy on its website. To see the policy, click here and scroll to page 512.

The County Board of Supervisors will hear a first reading of the new policy later this month, and consider it for final approval on April 12. If approved, it is expected to go into effect on May 1.

The new policy also allows for a complaint process and requires that all use-of-force incidents be reviewed by a sergeant.

In addition, the SCSO will report annually to the supervisors about the use of equipment, complaints, violations of the policy and the cost of their use.

The law does not preclude counties and cities from adding their own rules.

AB 481, authored by Assemblyman David Chiu, governs law enforcement agencies that take part in the federal  Law Enforcement Support Program—formerly known as the 1033 Program—which allows the Department of Defense to transfer excess property such as decommissioned military weapons to local jurisdictions. 

Chiu said the law was intended to curb the militarization of police agencies.

“Our streets in California are not war zones, and our citizens are not enemy combatants,” Chiu said in a statement. “Law enforcement in California are our partners in public safety, and the weapons and equipment they carry should reflect that reality.”

During the public meeting on Monday, Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Robbins stressed that the department has not gotten any equipment from the 1033 program.

“We will not take part in this program,” he said. “Sheriff Hart has made a pledge not to take part in this.”

Instead, the Sheriff’s Department gets its military-grade supplies from law enforcement vendors and other sources, Robbins said.  

Robbins says the department agrees with the new rules.

“It provides us another opportunity as a sheriff’s office to look at this and really break down the effectiveness of the tools we’re using, and if something is not working then maybe we need to look at some new ones,” he said. 

Robbins stressed that using the equipment provides a vital tool for law enforcement officers. 

“It increases the safety of the community, our law enforcement personnel and the persons involved in the calls,” he said. “We’re constantly encountering things that are dynamic, unusual, that we haven’t dealt with before.”

Sheriff’s Office Military-Grade Equipment

Robots

• One used by the county’s SWAT team in situations when someone is barricaded and they need to get a layout. The device is also equipped with a microphone and a speaker to communicate with suspects during crisis negotiations.
• Two robots are used by the county’s bomb team.

Drones

• The Sheriff’s Office has 26 of them. They are used for search and rescue, crime scene documentation, investigating suspicious or explosive devices and during natural disasters.

Armored vehicles

• A Bearcat, owned by Santa Cruz Police Department, is a “regional asset,” Robbins said, that other agencies can use during high-risk operations. Using this requires approval of the Sheriff’s executive staff, especially for pre-planned operations, Robbins said.
• An armored van for operations involving violent suspects and officer rescue

Command and Control Vehicles

• Two drone patrol vehicles
• Two patrol SUVs, which have a command center in trunk 
• A mobile substation van for crisis negotiations and disaster response 
• Two incident command vehicles used for search and rescue
• A bomb squad truck

Weapons

• Three AR10 precision rifles, used for covering personnel from a distance. These are only used by SWAT team members and require twice-monthly training. Use must be approved by an executive staff member. These rifles come with three different rounds: training, standard and for use in shooting through glass
• A chemical agent launching cup for SWAT missions, must be approved by executive staff
• 40mm launcher used for chemical agent projectiles or with foam-tipped rounds to “port windows”

Diversionary devices

• Sting Balls: Rubber balls, typically used in jail and only used with team commander approval
• Chemical agents such as CS gas and projectiles
• White smoke
• Less-lethal rounds such as bean bags
• Bola wrap, fired from a gun, this device sends a cord that encircles suspects’ ankles and immobilizes them.
• Pepperball launchers, which work like paintball guns.

Robbins says these devices are used in hostage rescue and when suspects are barricaded. The county does not use these during protests.