Assembly Bill 481 - Military Equipment Funding, Acquisition and Use Policy

On September 30, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 481 into law. This law directs law enforcement agencies to establish rules for the funding, acquisition and/or use of military equipment. The full text of AB 481 is available at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/bill.

Requirements of AB 481

AB 481 requires each law enforcement agency's governing body to adopt a written military use policy by ordinance in a public forum by April 30, 2022, in order to continue the use of this previously acquired equipment effective May 1, 2022. To help guide this process, FECPD has provided the district’s military use policy for our residents’ review..

• The Fulton-El Camino Park Police Department’s Military Equipment Use Policy, Policy 8701.1 is available to view here. 
• The Fulton-El Camino Park Police Department will prepare an Annual Report that includes the use of military equipment, any complaints received, any internal audits or other information about violations of its Military Equipment Use policy. This report, and any associated information, will be published on this webpage. The first Annual Report will be distributed in or around May of 2023.

Public Input Regarding AB 481

Under AB 481 and in the interest of transparency, the Fulton-El Camino Park Police Department has uploaded a draft of the military equipment policy on this website 30-days before a public meeting to satisfy the requirements of AB 481. The public hearing will be held on May 12, 2022.

Any member of the public with complaints or concerns regarding specific equipment may contact Lieutenant Patterson, the Fulton-El Camino Park Police Department Military Equipment Coordinator, at ipatterson@fecrpd.com 

Note: All members of the Fulton-El Camino Park Police Department are required to adhere to applicable laws and departmental policies related to the use of force. These policies are available to review in the Fulton-El Camino Park Police Department Policy Manual.