The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office held its annual community engagement meeting on April 24 to discuss the use of specialized military equipment in the county, including armored vehicles and weapons.
SBCSO’s armored vehicles are used in high-risk operations and when traveling through difficult terrain. Courtesy of SBCSO
Convening at 10 a.m., the meeting was part of an annual report to the public about military equipment acquired through California Assembly Bill 481 (AB 481), which requires law enforcement agencies to obtain approval of military equipment to take “certain actions related to the funding, acquisition, or use of military equipment.” The bill went into effect in 2022 after being signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
A part of the bill requires an annual report to the public for “as long as the equipment is available for use,” according to meeting facilitator Joe Schmidt. Schmidt is the recently appointed lieutenant of Isla Vista Foot Patrol and the previous military equipment coordinator for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office (SBCSO).
“The purpose of AB 481 is to increase transparency, accountability and oversight for the acquisition and use of equipment,” Schmidt said.
Multiple categories of military equipment were discussed at the meeting, including drones, equipment vehicles, firearms and ammunition, among others. Schmidt prefaced the meeting by acknowledging that the term “military equipment” is “intimidating,” but reaffirmed that the majority of the equipment is “specialized and not from the military.”
SBCSO’s armored vehicles include two Lenco BearCats and one Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, which are both used in high-risk operations and when traveling through difficult terrain. The MRAP vehicle wasn’t utilized in operations in 2024, while the BearCats were used nine times.
Schmidt said the MRAP vehicle is the only piece of equipment that’s classified as “military equipment.”
“This is the only piece of equipment that we have that falls under AB 481 that’s actually from the military. Everything else was purchased from or obtained from vendors and other suppliers that make law enforcement equipment,” Schmidt said.
They also utilized Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) vehicles 13 times in 2024, which are used to “de-escalate potentially violent persons,” as well as suicidal subjects.
“[CNT vehicles] can be used on a straight, non-criminal suicidal subject, and all that these professionals will do is attempt to de-escalate somebody in crisis who might have a tendency to be violent, and get them the help that they need,” Schmidt said.
Other vehicles utilized in 2024 were emergency command post trailers used three times, bomb squad vehicles used five times and special enforcement team command vehicles used nine times.
Schmidt also mentioned “less lethal force options” used in 2024, such as less lethal shotguns that were used once, and PepperBalls, which contain “varying degrees of pepper powder” that were used twice. Other “less lethal” options included 40-millimeter projectile launchers, which launch rubber bullets at the target and chemical agents, and are utilized for their “irritant properties.”
Precision equipment that was used in 2024 included search and rescue drones, which were used for 18 hours throughout the year, and bomb squad robots used five times.
Equipment that was mentioned in the meeting but not specified if they were used in 2024 included SWAT drones, tactical robots, .50 caliber rifles, explosive breaching tools, long range acoustic devices, water monitors, launching cups for chemical agents and Humvees.
Schmidt ended by emphasizing the justification for the use of this equipment.
“This is specialized law enforcement equipment as necessary, because there are no reasonable alternatives that can achieve the same objective of officer and civilian safety,” he said.
“The proposed law enforcement equipment use policy will safeguard the public’s welfare, safety, civil rights and civil liberties. The equipment is reasonably cost-effective compared to available alternatives that can achieve the same objective of officer and civilian safety,” Schmidt said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 7 of the May 1, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.
