Alameda County reviews AB 481 military‑equipment report as public urges ban on scattershot munitions

Captain Dan Brody, filling in for ACSO's military equipment coordinator on Oct. 29, told the Public Protection Committee that Alameda County's 2024 military equipment report (covering Oct. 1, 2023–Aug. 31, 2024) meets AB 481 requirements and describes training, audits, reported uses and planned inventory changes.

Brody said ACSO conducted internal audits that found no policy violations during the reporting period and reported no public complaints about military equipment use in that span. He said the department evaluated multiprojectile impact munitions and decided to remove some types from inventory and to prohibit their use inside therapeutic housing units at Santa Rita Jail.

"Out of the 16 surrounding counties, eight of them use multiprojectile impact munitions while eight do not," Brody said. "Following the extensive review, we've decided to remove specific multi projectile impact munitions...to better meet current operational needs, safety standards, and an alignment with the penal code." He later summarized that ACSO had removed hundreds of rounds and "nearly 1,000 rounds of munitions in 2024 and 2025."

Brody also described proposed acquisitions meant mainly to replace obsolete equipment and address supply‑chain lead times: ACSO plans to acquire PepperBall launchers and certain single‑shot munitions, and it characterized some requests as one‑for‑one replacements for nonfunctional FN 303 launchers rather than an expansion of capability.

The presentation and the September public engagement meeting prompted sustained public comment from advocates, researchers and residents who urged the county to ban scattershot munitions entirely and to impose tighter, enforceable limits on all kinetic impact projectiles and chemical munitions.

"Scatter shots aren't safe. Please reduce the quantity to zero," said Jennifer Tu of the American Friends Service Committee, who demonstrated the danger of a 50‑foot blast radius by measuring the distance she said the manufacturer cites for a device that disperses rubber pellets.

Several public experts echoed concerns about indiscriminate effects. Neil Corney, research associate at the Omega Research Foundation (UK), said the U.K. does not use multiprojectile munitions and called them "indiscriminate" and incompatible with international guidance on necessity and proportionality.

Community commenters also questioned ACSO's request for additional pepper‑ball projectiles and launchers: opponents noted ACSO fired a small number of projectiles in the prior year and asked why the department would expand its arsenal. Laura Magani, a Berkeley resident, said the request appeared to represent a large increase in inventory (she cited figures discussed by speakers) and urged reduction rather than expansion.

ACSO representatives answered several public concerns in the meeting. They said some PepperBall requests replace aging FN 303 launchers and that increases in certain single‑shot stockpiles are driven by logistics and manufacturer lead times, not a plan to expand operational use. Brody said policy revisions now tie less‑lethal deployments explicitly to the department's use‑of‑force policy (General Order 1.05) and that multiprojectile munitions will not be used inside Santa Rita Jail therapeutic housing units.

"We have updated General Order 1.21 to align specifically with General Order 1.05," Brody said, adding that less‑lethal systems must comply with the general use‑of‑force directive and de‑escalation expectations.

Supervisors asked for additional data, including clearer tracking on equipment used during mutual‑aid deployments, a public accounting of personnel costs for training and overtime, and more accessible town halls for community engagement. The committee agreed the report would come to the full Board before the end of the year and asked for follow‑up policy discussion in the spring.

The meeting record shows substantial public pressure for a full ban on scattershot munitions and clearer, enforceable limits on less‑lethal weapons, while ACSO maintained that most recent changes reduce inventory and formalize use restrictions.

The committee did not vote on equipment acquisitions at the meeting; staff will present the report and an accompanying board letter to the full Board before year end.