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706 - Military Equipment

706.1 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).

706.1.1 DEFINITIONS

Definitions related to this policy include (Government Code § 7070):

Governing body — The elected or appointed body that oversees the Office.

Military equipment — 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 caliber, 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.
  • Area denial electroshock devices, microwave weapons, water cannons, long-range acoustic devices (LRADs), acoustic hailing devices, and sound cannons.
  • Kinetic energy weapons and munitions.
  • Any other equipment as determined by a governing body or a state agency to require additional oversight.

706.2 POLICY

It is the policy of the Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department that members of this office comply with the provisions of Government Code § 7071 with respect to military equipment.

706.3 MILITARY EQUIPMENT COORDINATOR

The Sheriff should designate a member of this office to act as the military equipment coordinator.

The responsibilities of the military equipment coordinator include but are not limited to:

  • Acting as liaison to the governing body for matters related to the requirements of this policy.
  • Identifying office equipment that qualifies as military equipment in the current possession of the Office, or the equipment the Office intends to acquire that requires approval by the governing body.
  • Conducting an inventory of all military equipment at least annually.
  • Collaborating with any allied agency that may use military equipment within the jurisdiction of Hartwell County Sheriff’s Department (Government Code § 7071).
  • 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 office’s funding, acquisition, and use of equipment.
  • Preparing the annual military equipment report for submission to the Sheriff and ensuring that the report is made available on the office website (Government Code § 7072).
  • 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 Office will respond in a timely manner.

706.4 MILITARY EQUIPMENT INVENTORY

The following constitutes a list of qualifying equipment for the Office:

706.5 APPROVAL

The Sheriff 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 Sheriff or the authorized designee shall ensure the proposed military equipment policy is submitted to the governing body and is available on the office 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):

  • Requesting military equipment made available pursuant to 10 USC § 2576a.

Military Equipment

  • Seeking funds for military equipment, including but not limited to applying for a grant, soliciting or accepting private, local, state, or federal funds, in-kind donations, or other donations or transfers.
  • Acquiring military equipment either permanently or temporarily, including by borrowing or leasing.
  • Collaborating with another law enforcement agency in the deployment or other use of military equipment within the jurisdiction of this office.
  • Using any new or existing military equipment for a purpose, in a manner, or by a person not previously approved by the governing body.
  • Soliciting or responding to a proposal for, or entering into an agreement with, any other person or entity to seek funds for, apply to receive, acquire, use, or collaborate in the use of military equipment.
  • Acquiring military equipment through any means not provided above.

706.6 COORDINATION WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS

Military equipment should not be used by any other law enforcement agency or member in this jurisdiction unless the military equipment is approved for use in accordance with this policy.

706.7 ANNUAL REPORT

Upon approval of a military equipment policy, the Sheriff or the authorized designee should submit a military equipment report to the governing body for each type of military equipment approved within one year of approval, and annually thereafter for as long as the military equipment is available for use (Government Code § 7072).

The Sheriff or the authorized designee should also make each annual military equipment report publicly available on the office website for as long as the military equipment is available for use. The report shall include all information required by Government Code § 7072 for the preceding calendar year for each type of military equipment in office inventory.

706.8 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Within 30 days of submitting and publicly releasing the annual report, the Office shall hold at least one well-publicized and conveniently located community engagement meeting, at which the Office should discuss the report and respond to public questions regarding the funding, acquisition, or use of military equipment.

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