Policy Text
Policy
706Garden Grove Police Department
Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/08/30, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Garden Grove Police
DepartmentMilitary Equipment - 1Military Equipment
706.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for the approval, acquisition, and reporting
requirements of military equipment (Government Code § 7070; Government Code § 7071;
Government Code § 7072). This policy is provided to fulfill the obligations set forth in Assembly Bill
No. 481.These obligations include but are not limited to seeking approval on specific items deemed
to be military equipment and requirements related to compliance, annual reporting, cataloging,
and complaints regarding these items.
706.1.1 DEFINITIONS
Definitions related to this policy include (Government Code § 7070):
Governing body – The elected or appointed body that oversees the Department which, for the
purposes of the Department, would be the Garden Grove City Council.
Military equipment – Any of a wide variety of items as defined by California Government Code
§ 7070, subsections (c)(1) through (c)(16).
Includes but is not limited to the following:
•Unmanned, remotely piloted, powered aerial or ground vehicles.
•Mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) 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 service weapons and their ammunition.
•Any firearm or firearm accessory that is designed to launch explosive projectiles.
•Noise-flash diversionary devices and explosive breaching tools.
•Munitions containing tear gas or OC, excluding standard, service-issued handheld
pepper spray.
Garden Grove Police Department
Policy Manual
Military Equipment
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/08/30, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Garden Grove Police
DepartmentMilitary Equipment - 2•TASER® Shockwave, microwave weapons, water cannons, and long-range acoustic
devices (LRADs).
•Kinetic energy weapons and munitions.
•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 Garden Grove Police Department that members of this Department comply
with the provisions of Government Code § 7071 with respect to military equipment.
706.3 MILITARY EQUIPMENT COORDINATOR
The Chief of Police should designate the Professional Standards Division Lieutenant to act as the
military equipment coordinator. The responsibilities of the military equipment coordinator include
but are not limited to:
(a)Acting as liaison to the Garden Grove City Council for matters related to the
requirements of this policy.
(b)Identifying department equipment that qualifies as military equipment in the current
possession of the Department, and any equipment the Department intends to acquire
that requires approval by the Garden Grove City Council.
(c)Conducting an inventory of all Department military equipment at least annually.
(d)Collaborating with any allied agency that may use military equipment within the
jurisdiction of Garden Grove Police Department (Government Code § 7071).
(e)Preparing for, scheduling, and coordinating the annual community engagement
meeting 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 military 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)Providing information on the Department website which details how members of the
public can ask questions, raise concerns, or make comments regarding the military
equipment policy, or any use of military equipment by members of the Department.
The military equipment coordinator is required to respond to questions, comments,
and/or concerns as set forth in requirements of section 706.9 of this policy.
(h)Ensuring that any proposed and/or approved military equipment use policy is made
available on the Department website for as long as the military equipment identified
in the policy is available for use. (Government Code § 7071(d)(2))
Garden Grove Police Department
Policy Manual
Military Equipment
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/08/30, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Garden Grove Police
DepartmentMilitary Equipment - 3706.4 MILITARY EQUIPMENT USE CONSIDERATIONS
The military equipment acquired and authorized by the Department is:
(a)Necessary because there is no reasonable alternative that can achieve the same
objective of officer and civilian safety.
(b)Reasonably cost effective compared to available alternatives that can achieve the
same objective of officer and civilian safety.
706.5 APPROVAL
The Chief of Police or the authorized designee shall obtain approval from the City Council by
way of an ordinance adopting the military equipment policy. As part of the approval process, the