Policy Text
Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Military Equipment
709.1 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).
709.1.1 DEFINITIONS
Definitions related to this policy include (Government Code § 7070):
Governing body – The elected or appointed body that oversees the Department.
California Government Code Defined Military Equipment Categories – 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 c aliber, including firearms and
accessories identified as assault weapons in Penal Code § 30510 and Penal Code §
30515, with the exception of standard- issue firearms.
• 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.
• 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.
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/03/19, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
Department Military Equipment - 1 Policy
709
Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Military Equipment
709.2 POLICY
It is the policy of the Mountain View Police Department (MVPD or Department) that members of
this Department compl y with the provisions of Government Code § 7071 with respect to military
equipment.
709.3 MILITARY EQUIPMENT COORDINATOR
The Police Chief should designate a member of this Department 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 governing body 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, or the equipment the Department intends to acquire
that requires approval by the governing body.
(c) Conducting an inventory of all military equipment at least annually.
(d) Collaborating with any allied agency that may use military equipment within the
jurisdiction of Mountain View 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 Police Chief 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 in a timely manner.
709.4 MILITARY EQUIPMENT INVENTORY
The following constitutes a list of qualifying equipment for the Department.
See attachment: 709.4 Military Equipment Inventory.pdf
709.5 APPROVAL
The Police Chief or the authorized designee shall obtain approval from the governing body by
way of an ordinance adopting the military equipment policy. As part of the approval process, the
Police Chief or the authorized designee shall ensure the proposed military equipment policy is
submitted to the governing body and is available on the Department website at least 30 days prior
to any public hearing concerning the military equipment at issue (Government Code § 7071). The
military equipment policy must be approved by the governing body prior to engaging in any of the
following (Government Code § 7071):
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/03/19, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
Department Military Equipment - 2
Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Military Equipment
(a) Requesting military equipment made available pursuant to 10 USC § 2576a.
(b) Seeking funds for military equipment, including, but not limited to, applying for a grant,
soliciting or accepting private, local, State , or Federal funds,