Sheriff’s Department to Detail Its Military Equipment July 22

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the agency that patrols Altadena and the surrounding unincorporated foothill communities, will present its annual accounting of the military equipment it owns and how that equipment is used at a public virtual meeting on Wednesday, July 22.

The one-hour session, required under a California transparency law, gives residents of Altadena, Northeast Pasadena and the other areas the department serves a chance to review the equipment the state classifies as military — including drones, specialized munitions and a cellular surveillance device — along with what each item costs and how often it is deployed. Attendees can ask questions and engage directly with department representatives, according to the department.

The meeting runs from 5 to 6 p.m. and will be held online. The department is presenting its Annual Military Equipment Report, a document it is required to publish each year for the preceding calendar year, according to the Sheriff’s Department’s transparency website.

The report is mandated by Assembly Bill 481, which the state enacted in September 2021. The law requires every California law enforcement agency to adopt a written policy governing military equipment, publish an annual report on that equipment, and hold a public meeting within 30 days of releasing the report, according to the department’s report.

For each type of equipment, the annual report must state how the equipment was used and why, summarize any complaints, disclose the results of internal audits and any policy violations, list the total annual cost and its funding source, and give the quantity the department possesses, according to the report. It must also identify any equipment the department plans to acquire in the coming year.

The 2025 report addresses categories that include unmanned aircraft systems, or drones; kinetic energy projectiles; and a cellular site simulator, among the equipment types the statute defines as military, according to the report.

The department’s Altadena Station provides law enforcement services to unincorporated Altadena as well as Northeast Pasadena, Pasadena Glen, Kinneloa Mesa, La Viña, Chaney Trail and the Eaton Canyon and Mount Wilson area, according to the department. The station is at 780 E. Altadena Dr.

The meeting is scheduled a year and a half after the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena beginning Jan. 7, 2025. The Eaton and Palisades fires together caused 31 deaths and destroyed more than 16,000 structures, according to Los Angeles County.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the ordinance adopting the department’s military equipment use policy on April 9, 2024, and the policy took effect Aug. 8, 2024, according to the report. The board renewed the policy on Dec. 9, 2025. The department has published annual military equipment reports for 2024 and 2025.

Members of the public who cannot attend may submit comments and questions at any time through the email address and public complaint system listed on the department’s AB 481 page, according to the department.

To attend, the public can register online at bit.ly/4alv2Xh or by scanning the QR code on the meeting flyer. Additional information, including the full equipment report, is posted at lasd.org/transparency/ab481.

Under AB 481, the department is required to hold the meeting within 30 days of releasing each annual report, and to post future reports on its transparency website.