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Sheriff presents 2024 military-equipment report, seeks new chemical-agent launcher; committee pauses vote pending investigation
Summary
San Francisco Sheriff presented the 2024 Military Equipment Use Policy report and requested approvals for equipment purchases and continued use, including a targeted chemical-agent launcher. Supervisors asked about training and an incident in which chemical training affected a nearby school; the committee continued the item to next week pending the
San Francisco Sheriff Miyamoto told the Rules Committee on Monday that the department seeks approval to continue use of items listed in its 2023 Military Equipment Use Policy and to approve purchases to replenish or supplement inventory for 2025, including one new chemical-agent launcher. The committee voted to continue the item to next week so members can review an ongoing investigation into a May 2024 training incident that dispersed chemical agents off-site.
The Sheriff presented an overview of deployments and training during calendar year 2024, noting limited field use of several items and more frequent training uses. He said the department deployed unmanned aerial systems primarily for large events such as APEC and that drones require an FCC remote pilot certificate. He described a range of devices in inventory—mobile command and rapid response vehicles; breaching shotguns and kinetic-breaching tools used mainly in training; 5.56/223 rifles assigned to the special response team (SRT) and patrol; sniper rifles; diversionary devices (flashbangs); chemical agents and launchers (no field deployments in 2024); less-lethal impact munitions; and recon robots used for training.
On a new equipment request, Miyamoto described a pepper-ball VKS Pro chemical-agent launcher and a PPC breacher, saying the launcher can deliver an irritant round up to about 150 feet and is designed to “centralize on the individual and not on the environment.” He said certified training would be required for authorized teams and that the platform’s targeting system allows aiming at a single person rather than wide-area dispersal.
Supervisors pressed the Sheriff on several points: where the department patrols (countywide duties focused on Department of Public Health sites and clinics, and one squad participating in Operation Safe Streets), how the department’s unmanned aircraft differ from earlier throw robots (Sheriff said current platforms do not record or deliver items, only provide live observation and public address), and the location and status of chemical-agent training after a May 2024 incident at the San Bruno complex that affected a nearby school. The Sheriff said the department suspended outdoor chemical dispersal training at that site, stopped all such training after the incident, and is completing an internal investigation; preliminary administrative reports exist and the department is working with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. He said future training will be in enclosed spaces with HVAC and negative airflow to prevent off-site exposure.
Public commenters were sharply divided. Resident Leah McGeever said militarization of policing harms community safety and described the presence of heavily armed officers as making her feel less safe. Another speaker asked whether the requested chemical-agent launcher would be limited to common riot-control irritants and questioned why new chemical-agent equipment was being requested while an investigation into the May training incident is open. A third speaker, who identified herself as a 14-year civilian volunteer with SFPD and a criminal-justice master’s holder, urged supervisors to support the Sheriff’s requests, saying training and tools keep officers and the public safer.
Chair Walton moved to continue the item until next week so the full committee can consider it while an investigation remains in progress; the motion passed without objection.
Discussion-only items: the Sheriff described complaint-handling and internal auditing processes and said the department relies on the Department of Police Accountability (DPA) for investigations because the Office of Inspector General currently lacks assigned investigators. He reported that DPA received no formal misconduct complaints about military-equipment uses in 2024 but that the department did receive community complaints after the May training incident. The Sheriff said the department revised procedures after that incident and currently prohibits outdoor training dispersals at the San Bruno Complex.
The committee did not approve the equipment requests at this meeting; the matter was continued to the next Rules Committee meeting for further review while the investigation and review continue.
