Reviewing Pasadena Police’s Military Weaponry

Beginning the first of several meetings to be held on the issue, the Pasadena Police Department has released its annual report on “military equipment,” outlining what it owns, how it was used over the past year, and what changes are planned as the city aligns reporting with its fiscal calendar.

Lt. Anthony Russo, the department’s designated military-equipment coordinator, presented the information on Thursday at a community meeting at Washington Park.

As Russo noted, the 2024–25 report was posted Aug. 21 and, for the first time, covers 13 months — June 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 — so that future reports will line up with the city’s July-to-June fiscal year.

Additional meetings are scheduled across September, with a community presentation on September 4, a Community Police Oversight Commission (CPOC) review on September 11, a Public Safety Committee hearing September 17, and a final City Council vote September 29 on renewing the ordinance and accepting the report.

In the presentation, Russo emphasized that “military equipment” is a legal term in state law (AB 481) that does not necessarily mean weapons of war. Pasadena’s only items originally sourced from the military are three Bell OH-58 helicopters, which were stripped and outfitted for police operations. The policy governing such equipment—Pasadena Police Policy 711—was first approved in June 2022 and received minor updates this cycle to reflect staffing changes and to remove items the department no longer maintains.

AB 481 requires agencies to inventory equipment, document uses, training and legal rules, report fiscal impacts, and seek council approval for new categories or substantive changes in use. Pasadena lists gear in nine of the law’s 16 categories and reports none in seven others, meaning there are no tracked armored vehicles, weaponized aircraft, or long-range acoustic devices, for example.

Use over the period varied by category:

• Unmanned systems (Category 1): The department deployed a drone five times over the last 13 months. The tactical robot was not deployed while it underwent repairs; it is now functional. Russo said the team identified safety and practicality issues with the current drone platform and policy, which requires operators to get close to a doorway before launching, placing officers at risk.
• Armored rescue vehicle (Category 2): The BearCat was deployed 54 times. Many of the activations were for training, community engagement and contingency positioning. The vehicle was also used during the Eaton Fire response for evacuations.
• Command vehicles (Category 5): The Mobile Command Center (MCC) was deployed 28 times, including an 18-day stretch supporting Rose Bowl operations during the Eaton Fire response. The older Mobile Command Post is being repurposed and is expected to drop off the list in a future report.
• Breaching tools (Category 7): The breaching shotgun and lock-defeating rounds were not used.
• .50-caliber rifle and ammunition (Categories 8 & 9): The bolt-action rifle was deployed twice — once for Rose Parade overwatch and once for training. Seven rounds were fired during training to confirm operator proficiency; the rifle was not fired operationally.
• Flashbangs, chemical agents, PepperBall (Category 12): The department reported 25 flashbang uses — 12 in training and 13 during SWAT operations. Chemical agents were used once during a barricade involving a suspect with a violent history. PepperBall was deployed twice, including as a delivery method to move a barricaded person from a concealed space.
• 40mm impact munitions (Category 14): Less-lethal rounds were used four times: once by patrol for a direct impact on an armed suspect, and three times by SWAT to deliver agents into structures (24 impact rounds, 47 CS ferret rounds, 12 OC ferret rounds), with no direct strikes on suspects in those SWAT deployments.
• Helicopters (Category 16): Air support logged 1,571.3 flight hours for patrol, training and F.A.S.T. contract responses.

The department reported 12 contacts about helicopter activity — 11 noise complaints and one inquiry — and no complaints about other equipment categories. Internal audits found no violations or misuse. As part of the audit, the agency began removing aging chemical agents and outdated 40mm munitions from service and streamlining inventories to current models.

Financially, the department’s operating budget for the fiscal year was about $111.1 million. Spending tied to AB 481 equipment totaled $370,835 — less than one-half of 1% of the budget. The largest line item was helicopter flight and maintenance costs ($354,197 before F.A.S.T. cost recovery), followed by maintenance for the BearCat ($9,304) and Mobile Command Center ($7,320). The department also spent $7,333 replenishing 40mm and PepperBall munitions.

Looking ahead, Pasadena plans to replace consumable munitions and update chemical agents ($30,000 to $50,000); replace SWAT drones and revise policy to allow safer, more effective indoor use; and integrate drones into major-accident investigations to capture aerial imagery when helicopters cannot fly ($5,000 to $30,000). The agency will also study limited explosive breaching for SWAT, estimating $7,000 to $57,000 depending on storage and transport needs. Policy proposals and procurements will go to CPOC for review and then to the City Council for approval before use.

Russo also explained that the report is “intended to provide transparency and context for equipment that has become common in modern policing, with training and oversight designed to ensure lawful, judicious use.”