The Seal Beach Police Department needed council approval to buy diversionary devices. On Monday, March 25, the council approved the proposed purchase. The cost: $9,558.07 This was a Consent Calendar item. Everything on the Consent Calendar is approved collectively and unanimously, after public comment, without discussion by the council unless specific items are pulled for individual consideration. This item wasn’t pulled.
“Under State law, once the City has adopted a compliant policy, law enforcement agencies are required to obtain approval from their respective governing body prior to funding, seeking funding for, or acquiring ‘military equipment,’” according to the staff report prepared by Operations Capt. Michael Ezroj.
“Law enforcement agencies are not permitted to use ‘military equipment,’ as defined in State law, unless it is permitted by the policy and included in the equipment inventory that is an attachment to the policy,” Ezroj wrote.
“There are no reasonable alternatives to the NFDD [Noise Flash Diversionary Devices] requested in this report. SBPD officers are already trained to deploy NFDDs. At this time there is a limited supply left for officers to access in the event of an emergency or Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) activation,” Ezroj wrote. “These NFDDs are managed by the SWAT team members who have completed the Flash Bang Instructors course.”
According to Ezroj’s report, this item was budgeted based on availability of the product less than the approved amount.
