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Council approves police military-equipment use report despite public concerns about transparency
Summary
Council approved the Desert Hot Springs Police Department's 2025 military equipment use report, noting drone deployments and recent equipment purchases; a resident urged the council to decline approval and demanded fuller public postings and audit details required by state law.
The Desert Hot Springs City Council on May 5 voted unanimously to approve the police department’s 2025 military equipment use report, after the police chief summarized equipment deployments, purchases and fiscal totals.
The police chief told the council the department deployed its unmanned aerial system (drone) 401 times during calendar year 2025 for patrol calls, search warrants and scene documentation. The department also reported deployment (but not firing) of several less‑lethal launchers and said newly purchased pepperball launchers had been deployed but not fired. The chief said there were no unauthorized uses of military‑designated equipment in 2025.
On the fiscal side, the department reported $51,375.06 in expenditures for patrol rifles, pepperball launchers and drone software and licenses; staff recommended council approve the annual report as required by state law.
During public comment, resident Joshua Hendrick urged the council to vote no, alleging the city is not in full compliance with state reporting statutes and department policies. His concerns included missing online postings required by AB 481 (he said prior years’ posts had been on social media rather than the city website), absence of surveillance‑impact reports and privacy assessments, missing MOUs or data‑sharing agreements, and omission of certain audit results and personnel/training cost accounting from the published materials.
Council members approved the report after hearing staff’s presentation and public comment. The council did not ask for additional conditions; several members thanked staff for the presentation.
