Rules committee delays decision on sheriff's 2024 military-equipment report after public concern about training incident

The San Francisco Rules Committee continued action on the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office 2024 Military Equipment Use Policy annual report and a set of equipment purchase requests after hearing a departmental briefing and public comment about a May 2024 training incident that dispersed chemical agent beyond a training site.

Sheriff Paul Miyamoto said the presentation covered continued use of previously approved items, replenishment of equipment used during 2024 and requests to supplement items that remain in limited supply. He described inventory and usage for calendar year 2024, including unmanned aerial systems used in conjunction with the department’s air squadron at major events, mobile command and rapid response vehicles, rifles and special response team equipment, spare reconnaissance robots and various training-only uses for diversionary devices, chemical-agent launchers and less-lethal munitions.

Miyamoto said many items were used only in training during 2024. He gave inventory counts for some items: "we have 21 total SRT and 24 patrol rifles currently in our stock," and said sniper rifles, diversionary devices and less-lethal munitions saw limited deployments and mostly training uses in 2024. Miyamoto also described a training exercise in May 2024 at the San Bruno complex that dispersed chemical agent downwind and affected a nearby school; he said the department has "stopped all of our training after that occurred" and that an investigation remains ongoing.

The Sheriff asked the committee to approve replenishment of expended items and one new requested item: a chemical-agent launcher platform (a pepper-ball VKS Pro and PPC breacher) designed to deliver an irritant round at longer range and with a targeting reticle, which the Sheriff described as allowing responders to "stay about 150 feet away from somebody as opposed to having to get closer." Miyamoto said deployment of that platform would be restricted to specially trained personnel in emergency services and the special response team.

Members of the public raised concerns about further militarization and repeated the need for caution while an investigation is pending. Leah McGeever, a District 6 resident, said she was "not in favor of any further militarizing of, any policing type departments" and described feeling less safe when armed units were visible in her neighborhood. Another speaker asked whether the requested chemical-agent launcher would be limited to riot-control agents and questioned approving new chemical-agent equipment while the department’s investigation of the May incident remains open.

Sheriff Miyamoto said the department is partnering with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Department of Police Accountability on follow-up; he reported preliminary administrative findings but said the investigation was not complete.

Because the investigation had not concluded and to allow the full committee to consider the request, Chair Walton moved to continue the item to the next Rules Committee meeting. The motion to continue passed without objection (Vice Chair Cheryl, aye; Member Mandelmann, aye; Chair Walton, aye).