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Escondido residents press council to cancel DHS/ICE firing-range agreement; motion to terminate fails
Summary
After hours of public comment demanding the city end a memorandum of agreement that allows Homeland Security Investigations to use the Escondido Police firing range, Councilmember Martinez moved to terminate the contract immediately; the motion died for lack of a second. Chief Ken Plunkett outlined contract dates, fees and legal risks.
Hundreds of residents filled Escondido City Hall on a single agenda item Tuesday night, urging the City Council to cancel an agreement that allows Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), an operational component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to use the Escondido Police Department(EPD) firearms training range.
The chief of police, Ken Plunkett, told the council the range sits on more than 250 acres, includes three firing ranges and is used under contract by about 600 officers and agents from roughly 20 local, state and federal agencies. Plunkett described two related documents: a City of Escondido range agreement and a federal memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by DHS. The MOA carried an effective date of Oct. 14, 2024, Plunkett said, and the federal procurement documents list an initial year of funding at $22,500 with optional additional years that together total a potential $67,500.
"We do not have a contract for the ERO…
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