Oxnard Police present 2024 military equipment report; request approval to buy 40 mm launchers and .223 rifles

Commander Steve Trickle, Oxnard Police Department, presented the department's calendar-year 2024 military equipment use report to the Oxnard City Council and recommended the council receive the report, renew the city's military equipment ordinance, and approve continued authorization and acquisition of specified equipment.

The recommendation to council included: receive the annual report on the department's military equipment inventory and use; approve renewal of Oxnard Ordinance No. 3014 (codified in Oxnard City Code section 2-112) as the city's military equipment policy; approve continuing authorization for funding, acquisition, and use of items on the department's military equipment inventory; and approve acquisition and use of five additional 40 mm projectile launchers and 24 replacement .223-caliber rifles. The transcript did not include a council vote or final action on those recommendations.

Trickle gave counts and examples of equipment that the department reports as military equipment under Assembly Bill 481 (Gov. Code §§7070–7075). He said unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly called drones, were used 180 times in 2024 and that all Oxnard PD drone pilots are Federal Aviation Administration certified and document operations in flight logs. "Drones are often the first resource on the scene and improve not only efficiencies, but enhance safety to both the responding officers as well as the public that we serve," Trickle said.

Trickle described four drone models in use (DJI Matrice 210, DJI Mavic Enterprise, DJI M30 and DJI Avata) and said the department is implementing a drone-first-responder program approved by council in December of the prior year that will pre-position three responder drones for selected calls and provide two indoor tactical drones for SWAT.

Robotic systems reported included two small ground remote-control vehicles used three times in 2024 and a Transcend Robotics Vantage robot that officers used on Sept. 8, 2024, to search a small-diameter drain pipe during a missing-person response; Ventura County Fire Department personnel then rescued the victim, the presentation said. The department reported no complaints or policy violations related to these systems in 2024.

The department listed two Lenco BearCat armored vehicles, which Trickle said provide ballistic protection and are unarmed. He reported 48 uses in 2024: three responses to armed subjects or to assist patrol officers, 25 uses for search warrants and 20 uses at community engagement events. Ongoing annual preventive maintenance and fuel costs for each vehicle are approximately $1,100, he said. The department does not own tracked armored vehicles but said the Ventura County Sheriff's Department made a tracked device (referred to in the presentation as a "rook") available once during the year at no cost to the city.

On less-lethal and specialty weapons that AB 481 categorizes as military equipment, Trickle said the department possessed: two breaching shotguns (used only for training during the period), 11 .308-caliber precision rifles (used for training only), and patrol .223-caliber rifles. The department reported spending about $10,598.85 on rifle ammunition and maintenance and said patrol .223 rifles were fired in one incident and were pointed at suspects on 87 occasions during the reporting period; all reportable uses are investigated and tracked by the department's professional standards unit.

Trickle reported flash-bang (light-sound diversionary) devices were used 30 times in 2024 and that those devices gained suspect compliance on 27 of 30 occasions. Chemical agents (tear gas) were used three times; pepperball rounds were used seven times; beanbag shotguns were used three times; the 40 mm launcher was not used during the reporting period. Trickle said training for these items is provided by POST-certified instructors or department range/SWAT instructors, and that use is reviewed as reportable force when applicable.

On acquisitions, Trickle said the department seeks five additional 40 mm projectile launchers (estimated purchase cost $9,686, to be paid from Supplemental Law Enforcement Service Funds) plus 40 mm training and live rounds (estimated $9,360, to be paid from the general fund). The department also proposed purchasing 24 replacement .223-caliber rifles (estimated $47,945, to be paid from asset seizure/forfeiture funds) because some patrol rifles are over 20 years old and have exceeded their service life. Trickle emphasized that the additions are intended to expand availability of less-lethal options and to replace worn patrol rifles.

Trickle repeatedly noted there were no complaints or violations of the department's military equipment policy reported for 2024 in the presentation. He referenced Assembly Bill 481 and the city's existing ordinance and military equipment policy (adopted June 7, 2022, effective July 6, 2022) as the legal framework requiring a public meeting, an annual report, and council approval to fund, acquire, or use listed equipment. The transcript does not record any council deliberation or vote on the recommendations.

The report included ongoing-cost estimates the department cited (for example, $63,400 per year for fuel and maintenance across command/control vehicles and support units) and the listed funding sources for proposed purchases (SLESF, general fund and asset seizure/forfeiture funds). The presentation attached photos and usage examples for multiple equipment categories and noted the department ceased procuring equipment through the Defense Logistics Agency 1033 program years earlier.

If the council moves forward on the department's recommendations, formal council action and any required ordinance renewal would be recorded in subsequent minutes or an agenda item. The presentation itself concluded with the recommendation that the council receive the 2024 report and approve the ordinance renewal, continuing authorization, and the specific acquisitions described above.