Clovis leaders prefer to keep their police-owned military equipment hush-hush | Opinion
Remember the last time the Clovis Police Department had to deal with armed hostage-takers? Or when radical insurgents took over city streets during Big Hat Days?
I sure don’t. But in the event one of those scenarios becomes real, Clovis police are properly equipped.
Officers could arrive at “a critical incident” in one of two armored, all-terrain personnel vehicles at the department’s disposal: an MRAP (which stands for Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) and a Lenco BearCat G3, both of which seat 10-12 officers and are designed with an open floor plan “that allows for the rescue of downed personnel.”
Once on scene, trained officers have at their disposal a number of options to bring such situations under control. For example, 40 mm launchers that fire projectiles up to 131 feet. Some are designed to penetrate windows and hollow doors, delivering a chemical payload inside a room; others are pyrotechnic and intended for outdoor use.
Clovis police also possess PepperBall launchers that disperse payloads of irritant chemicals; shotguns that fire nonlethal beanbags; 12 different varieties of chemical agent and smoke canisters; “distraction devices” that produce a “thunderous bang with an intense bright light;” an assortment of explosive breaching tools; and .308-caliber sniper rifles.
Opinion
This being 2023, unmanned aircraft systems (aka drones) are a must. Good thing Clovis PD owns 12 different types and intends to purchase three more during the current fiscal year, including two designed for indoor use.
How did I come by such detailed information? It’s all described in the 30-page annual military equipment report presented to the City Council during Monday night’s meeting, part of the department’s compliance with a recently enacted state law.
AB 481, authored by state Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), mandates local and state law enforcement agencies gain authorization from their governing bodies prior to purchasing what the bill defines as “military equipment.” Agencies are also required to compile an annual report of their existing inventories that describes each item and their authorized uses.
The bill, according to Chiu, was born out of police rolling up in armored vehicles and riot gear in response to largely peaceful protests during the summer of 2020.
“The streets of California are not war zones, our citizens are not enemy combatants,” Chiu said in a 2021 interview. “Law enforcement in California are our community partners in public safety. They are not military generals, and weapons and equipment they use should reflect that reality.”
Law requires police transparency
Note that AB 481 doesn’t restrict the purchase or use of any weapons or tactical gear. It simply requires police and sheriffs to be up front about what they buy with our tax dollars.
Which is something citizens have every right to demand from publicly funded government agencies.
Not that Clovis council members saw it that way. Several made it clear they believed the entire exercise was something designed by liberal politicians in Sacramento for the sole purpose of making life more difficult for law enforcement.
The words “transparency” and “accountability” never entered the conversation. To this set of elected officials, the police department’s military arsenal should’ve remained a closely guarded state secret.
“We just did the homework for people,” Clovis Mayor Lynne Ashbeck groused. “We gave them a whole list. … I can’t find a reason why we need to tell you what we have and are going to use against you. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Ashbeck didn’t specify who she was referring to. But by implication, I’m guessing she meant all the armed and dangerous individuals who at this moment are contemplating criminal activity in Clovis. All the would-be bank robbers, kidnappers and terrorists.
What’s this? You’re saying Clovis doesn’t have a bunch of bank robberies, kidnappings and terrorist attacks?
Pfft, no matter. A violent crime spree could break out inside Sierra Vista Mall at any moment. One never knows.
Military equipment hardly used
Nor does it matter, apparently, that Clovis police hardly ever dust off their military equipment. The MRAP was utilized three times in 2022 and the BearCat zero, according to the report. Not a single heat, smoke or sponge round was fired. Nor any PepperBall launchers, blasting devices or beanbag shotguns.
“Just because we don’t use it doesn’t mean we might not need it in the future,” Clovis Police Lt. Craig Aranas reminded the council during Monday’s meeting.
It’s the same logic used by insurance salesmen and hoarders.
For the record, Clovis paid $431,133.42 for the BearCat that never left the parking lot last year. (The MRAP was evidently a donation.) Far be it for me to suggest that money could’ve been better spent.
Certainly not at a time when the city’s fiscally conservative elected leaders are mulling a sales tax increase to fund more police staffing and resources.
Clovis is hardly the only California city with military equipment for police. Most medium-to-large-sized departments, Fresno police included, have such gear in their inventory.
The meaning behind AB 41 isn’t to put a thumb on law enforcement. It’s to ensure that each city and county, through their elected representatives, set their own standards for how they are policed. The way things should be.
What’s more, public knowledge about a police department’s military arsenal, understanding each piece of equipment’s function and purpose and the authorized users of said items, results in greater transparency. Which leads to increased trust.
Too bad the Clovis City Council, with its acute bunker mentality, completely missed the point.
