Policy Text
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/02/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Costa Mesa Police
AB 481 Equipment - 1 Costa Mesa
Police Department
Costa Mesa PD Policy Manual
Assembly Bill (AB) 481 Equipment Use Policy
706.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This policy provides guidelines to comply with State law for the approval, acquisition, and
reporting requirements of specific equipment (Government Code § 7070; Government
Code § 7071; Government Code § 7072).
706.1.1 DEFINITIONS
Definitions related to this policy include (Government Code § 7070):
Governing body – The elected or appointed body that oversees the Department.
Specified equipment – Includes but is not limited to the following:
• Unmanned, remotely piloted, powered aerial or ground vehicles.
• Mine -resistant ambush -protected (M RAP) vehicles or armored personnel
carriers.
• High mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV), two- and-one-half-
ton trucks, five -ton trucks, or wheeled vehicles that have a breaching or entry
apparatus attached.
• Tracked armored vehicles that provide ballistic protection to their occupants.
• Command and control vehicles that are either built or modified to facilitate the
operational control and direction of public safety units.
• Weaponized aircraft, vessels, or vehicles of any kind.
• Battering rams, slugs , and breaching apparatuses that are explosive in
nature. This does not include a handheld, one- person ram.
• Firearms and ammunition of .50 caliber or greater, excluding standard- issue
shotguns and standard -issue shotgun ammunition.
• Specialized firearms and ammunition of less than .50 caliber, including
firearms and accessories identified as assault weapons in Penal Code § 30510 and Penal Code § 30515, with the exception of standard -issue firearms and
ammunition.
• Any firearm or firearm accessory that is desi gned to launch explosive
projectiles.
• “Flashbang ” grenades and explosive breaching tools .
• Munitions containing , “tear gas ,” and pepper balls, excluding standard,
service -issued handheld pepper spray. Policy
706
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/02/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Costa Mesa Police
AB 481 Equipment - 2 • TASER® Shockwave, microwave weapons, water cannons, and long -range
acoustic devices (LRADs).
• 40mm projectile launchers, “bean bag,” rubber bullet, and specialty impact
munition (SIM) weapons .
• Any other equipment as determined by a governing body or a state agency to
require additional oversight.
706.2 POLICY
It is the policy of the Costa Mesa Police Department that members of this department
comply with the provisions of Government Code § 7071.
706.3 AB 481 EQUIPMENT COORDINATOR
The Chief of Police should designate a member of this department to act as the
coordinator of all equipment mandated by State law to be approved under this policy .
The responsibilities of the coordinator include but are not limited to:
(a) Acting as liaison to the governing body for matters related to the requirements
of this policy.
(b) Identifying department equipment that qualifies as AB 481 equipment in the
current possession of the Department, or the equipment the Department intends to acquire that requires approval by the governing body.
(c) Conducting an inventory of all AB 481 equipment at least annually.
(d) Collaborating with any allied agency that may use AB 481 equipment within
the jurisdiction of Costa Mesa Police Department (Government Code § 7071).
(e) Preparing for, scheduling, and coordinating the annual community
engagement m eeting to include:
1. Publicizing the details of the meeting.
2. Preparing for public questions regarding the department’s funding,
acquisition, and use of equipment.
(f) Preparing the annual AB 481 equipment report for submission to the Chief of
Police and ensuring that the report is made available on the department website
(Government Code § 7072).
(g) Establishing the procedure for a person to register a complaint or concern, or
how that person may submit a question about the use of a type of military
equipment, and how the Department will respond.
706.4 AB 481 EQUIPMENT CONSIDERATIONS
(a) The AB 481 equipment acquired and authorized by the Department is:
1. Necessary because there is no reasonable alternative that can achieve
the same objective of officer and civilian safety.
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/02/09, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Costa Mesa Police
AB 481 Equipment - 3 2. Reasonably cost -effective compared to available alternatives that can
achieve the same objective of officer and civilian safety.
(b) AB 481 equipment shall be used by a Department employee only after
applicable training, including any course required by the Commission on Peace
Officer Standards and Training, has been completed unless exigent
circumstances arise.
706.5 AB 481 EQUIPMENT INVENTORY
The following constitutes a list of qualifying equipment for the Department :
See attached: AB 481 Equipment Inventory .pdf
706.6 APPROVAL
The Chief of Police or the authorized designee shall obtain approval