The Santa Cruz Police Department will be holding a virtual community meeting next week to discuss the use of surplus military equipment by the department in accordance with Assembly Bill 481.
AB 481 requires public meetings prior to police acquisition of military-surplus equipment in the interest of transparency and public scrutiny. It was one of eight police-reform measures signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 after the murder of George Floyd. In Santa Cruz, the city council must also approve police acquisition of military-surplus weapons and other equipment after a unanimous vote the same year.
These policies touched Santa Cruz in 2023, when public hesitation slowed SCPD’s acquisition of automated license plate readers.
The upcoming SCPD meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, March 27, from 5 to 6 p.m., consisting of a brief presentation and a Q&A session via Zoom. Those interested can submit questions via email to cbrothers@santacruzca.gov. It was unclear as of publication time what military equipment will be discussed.
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