City Council receives police 2024 annual report and Assembly Bill 481 military equipment use report

San Luis Obispo City Council on a 5-0 vote received and filed the San Luis Obispo Police Department—9s 2024 annual report and the department—9s Assembly Bill 481 military equipment use report during the regular council meeting. Councilmember Marks moved to receive the report; Councilmember Boswell seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

The reports showed that the department responded to 35,003 calls for service in 2024 and "we deployed military equipment on 52 of those incidents," Deputy Chief Amoroso told the council, noting that the majority of those deployments were unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Amoroso said that actual use of military-designated equipment on calls within the city occurred twice in 2024 (0.005 percent of calls for service). The department reported no complaints or policy violations related to military equipment use during 2024.

The nut graph: the reports combined crime statistics, traffic and noise data, department training updates and an inventory-and-use review required by state law (AB 481), giving the council and public a look at how the department balances operational needs, transparency and public-safety priorities.

The presentation and council discussion included the following highlights and details:

- Crime trends: Chief Scott and Deputy Chief Schaeffer told the council that violent crime in the city decreased about 14 percent year over year, while overall Part I crime rose 3.4 percent, mainly driven by increases in general theft (shoplifting, bike thefts and thefts from vehicles). Schaeffer said longer-term comparisons show several-year declines compared with peak years.

- Traffic and collisions: Collision counts increased 31.6 percent compared with some prior years; the presenters said 2024 included five fatal collisions, and several were linked to drugs or alcohol. The department reported a 38 percent increase in traffic citations and more than 10,000 traffic stops in the year as enforcement and education efforts increased.

- Noise: The department recorded 180 noise citations in 2024 and fewer overall noise citations than in the prior year; deputies described a system that issues documented Disturbance Advisory Cards (DACs) as a first step before citations. Deputy Chief Schaeffer said DACs are logged and a repeated violation within nine months can lead to a citation.

- Training and wellness: The department described continuing Crisis Intervention Training (about 40 hours per officer) and a mandatory, citywide employee wellness check program implemented for police employees. The department also completed a staffing study and has been implementing data-driven policing tools such as a "resource router" and GIS crime dashboards.

- Facilities: The department reported remodel work on 1106 Walnut Street, with remodel completion elements expected in November 2025.

Assembly Bill 481 report specifics

The AB 481 presentation reviewed equipment categories the city lists under the statute. Deputy Chief Amoroso said drone deployments accounted for most reported uses (50 of the 52 deployments in 2024) and listed a small number of other deployments: two robot deployments (both assists to other agencies) and limited use of the department—9s BearCat armored vehicle in three incidents (including one local barricade where a shooter fired at vehicles). Amoroso told council the department had no deployments of rifles, breaching shotguns, pepper-ball launchers, noise-flash diversionary devices or chemical agents reported for 2024.

The department proposed modest changes to inventory and tactics: increasing the number of launching cups (a device that lets the department place certain less-lethal canisters at a safer distance) from two to four, testing a new OCCS aerosol device (described as a nonpyrotechnic delivery method for OC/CS with reduced fire risk) and phasing out "triple chaser" munitions in favor of a single-canister delivery that the department said is more precise.

Amoroso said the proposed additions would be used as a last resort in operations that require life-preservation measures and that replacement and training costs are included in the department—9s budget plan.

Public comment and council questions

A speaker during the public-comment period, Dr. Lowe, raised concerns about a recent police social-media post that Dr. Lowe said publicly identified and shamed a local family after a traffic stop; Dr. Lowe asked the department to consider alternatives such as connecting families to supports rather than public posts. Chief Scott (responding earlier in the meeting) said the department would look into the specific incident and that the department's intent is not to "identify someone or certainly not shame them."

Councilmembers asked for greater detail on equipment types and use thresholds. Councilmember Marks asked about disposal and lifecycle of chemical agents; the department said expired canisters are rendered safe and used in training rather than thrown away as live munitions. Vice Mayor Shoresman and other councilmembers probed policy controls, the chain of command for critical-incident decisions and how the department complies with AB 481 and subsequent related state requirements.

Council action and next steps

Councilmember Marks moved to receive and file the reports; Councilmember Boswell seconded. A roll-call vote recorded Marks, Boswell, Francis, Vice Mayor Shoresman and Mayor Erica Stewart as voting yes; the motion passed 5-0. The department said it will return with routine annual updates and that the public may review departmental policies on the police page of the city website.

Ending

The city will publish the AB 481 inventory and the annual report on the police department's public materials. Councilmembers asked staff to continue providing comparative multi-year dashboards, to refine public-facing explanations of how specific devices are used and to keep the council and the public informed about training and policy changes.