The City of Berkeley has moved ahead with an oversight and transparency ordinance for controlled military equipment like armored vehicles and assault rifles. To the best of our knowledge, they are the first city in the country to do so. The effort was spearheaded by council woman Kate Harrison, supported by mayor Jesse Arreguin and council members Ben Bartlett and Terry Taplin and passed unanimously. Similar legislation is on tap in Oakland and on a statewide level, in David Chiu’s Assembly Bill 481.
Controlled equipment regulation requires council-approved use policies for a list of military and military-style equipment, approval prior to acquisition, and annual reporting on use metrics. The law follows a startling increase in proto-military equipment owned by municipal police departments over the past two decades, and several academic studies showing the use of such equipment neither prevents crime nor increases officer safety, but instead can escalate violence and excessive use of force incidents.