OCEANSIDE — For a second year in a row, the City Council approved the police department’s inventory report on military-grade weapons and equipment in late August as required under a recent state law.
Assembly Bill 481, which went into effect in 2022, requires law enforcement agencies to develop policy and include an inventory of its military-grade equipment. Under the law, police agencies must provide information to their respective city councils regarding the purchase, use and funding source used to purchase equipment that falls under the military-grade classification.
Sean Marchand, Oceanside’s assistant police chief, presented the inventory on Aug. 23 to the City Council.
The department’s inventory of 16 operating unmanned aerial systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, are helpful in search and rescue operations, barricaded suspects, high-risk tactical operations, disaster response, documentation of crime scenes, traffic collisions and other hazardous incidents.
According to Marchand, the police department had 680 UAS flights between May 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, 50% of which were for training purposes, 23% for patrol operations, crime scene documentation and suspect searches, 10% for search warrants, 8% for enforcement operations conducted in response to ongoing crime trends in the city, and 6% for special events like the Turkey Trot and Independence Day festivities.
Several vehicles, including a Lenco Bearcat, are included in the military-grade equipment category. The armored personnel vehicle was used during 31 SWAT missions and warrant services and 14 patrol-related incidents in the last year, Marchand reported.
OPD also has explosive breaching equipment classified as “military-grade,” such as blasting caps, detonator cords and explosive sheets, only to be used by authorized SWAT team members trained to use explosive breaching equipment. The department did not deploy these explosives over the past year.
The supply also includes specialized firearms with ammunition smaller than .50 caliber, covering various 9mm, 223 and 308 caliber rifles (including bolt-action) and carbines used in training.
The department also has less lethal deployment systems like pepper ball launchers, which were used to strike a person once and used five times as a show of force last year; 40-millimeter launchers, which hit one person taken into custody last year and had 23 shows of force; and 12 designated less lethal 12-gauge shotguns that had three deployments 74 shows of force last year.
Chemical agents like pepper spray are also included under AB 481 requirements.
Marchand said the police department had no complaints regarding its military-grade equipment in the past year.
Several public members were alarmed by the assistant chief’s presentation of equipment and questioned the need for so many weapons, mainly the department’s stock of guns.
Richard Newton questioned the department’s stock of 95 NATO rifles (5.56mm), which he said “could do a lot of damage,” and its 11 sniper rifles with an 800-yard range, which could reach from City Hall to a local tap house.
“This seems excessive for a local police force,” Newton said.
Newton also questioned the number of drones the department has and various cameras placed at intersections throughout the city, suggesting it seems like a “surveillance society” with so many recording devices.
Others like Jim Gibson, a former Marine captain, were comforted by the police department’s weapons stockpile.
“I’m glad we supply our police force with the weapons they need,” Gibson said. “We live in a bad, bad world, and I know we have a good police force.”
Some residents were concerned the department requested more military-grade equipment, but that was untrue. The report only detailed what OPD has in its inventory as part of AB 481 requirements.
Marchand responded to questions about the department’s submachine gun stock, noting that several pieces of equipment were purchased nearly 30 years ago.
The City Council unanimously approved the inventory report.
Councilmember Eric Joyce said AB 481 is a good tool for maintaining transparency within the police department and suggested providing more community engagement opportunities for the public to learn about the law and the department’s inventory.
Mayor Esther Sanchez was pleased there were no complaints regarding the inventory and commended the police department.
“You’ve been so responsible in making sure police officers don’t overreact to situations,” Sanchez said. “I think our police department has worked really, really hard to establish training and experience to maintain that professionalism.”
