Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Carlos G. Bolanos, Sheriff
Subject: Military Equipment Use Policy for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt an uncodified ordinance approving a Military Equipment Use Policy for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, previously introduced on April 19, 2022, and waive the reading of the ordinance in its entirety.
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BACKGROUND:
Assembly Bill 481 was enacted last year, and it requires that law enforcement agencies bring to their respective local agency governing boards "Military Equipment Use Polic[ies]" in the form of an Ordinance.
There is some indication that AB 481 was intended to apply only to equipment actually used by the military. The Sheriff's Office has no such equipment. However, many have interpreted the law more broadly to include certain general types of equipment that fall within the categories listed in AB 481 but that are not actually purchased by the military from military sources, and in the interest of transparency, the Sheriff's Office has created a policy and is bringing it to the Board for approval.
DISCUSSION:
The Sheriff's Office has created a draft policy compliant with AB 481, and which will ultimately be found within the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Policy Manual as Policy 705-Military Equipment Use Policy ("Policy 705"). It has been published on the Sheriff's Office's website since March 17, 2022.
The policy reflects that Sheriff's Office owns and uses (on occasion) the following items that are listed in AB 481:
(1) Unmanned, remotely piloted, powered aerial and ground vehicles. This equipment takes the form of bomb disposal robots and unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) or "drones".
(2) A wheeled vehicle, commonly referred to as a "BearCat" that has an entry apparatus attached.
(3) A Command vehicle that was built to facilitate the operational control and direction ...
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