The council unanimously authorized the Seal Beach Police Department to purchase 12,000 rounds of rifle ammunition under the city’s military equipment policy. The cost: 5,934.87, according to the staff report.
This was an item on the Consent Calendar. Consent items are voted on collectively, without discussion, unless pulled for separate consideration and voting.
Nothing was pulled from the Feb. 27 Consent Calendar.
The SBPD plans to purchase .223/5.56mm ammunition, according to the staff report prepared by Operations Capt. Michael Ezroj.
Under California law, law enforcement agencies may not buy military equipment unless it is permitted by a military equipment policy.
Seal Beach adopted the policy last April, according to Capt. Ezroj’s report.
“There are no reasonable alternatives to the ammunition requested in this report. SBPD officers are already equipped and trained with rifles. SBPD needs additional ammunition for ongoing operation, training, qualification, and reserve supplies,” Ezroj wrote.
“Patrol rifles, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) rifles, and sniper rifles enable officers when in compliance with the SBPD’s Use of Force Policy, to address medium to long distance threats, or those threats who are heavily armed, armored or both,” Ezroj wrote.
“Further, in both short and long-distance deployments, they allow officers precision shot placement minimizing the risk to officers and innocent citizens. There are no known alternatives to these weapons that will provide the same level of distance or precision,” Ezroj wrote.
“SBPD will provide an annual update to the policy and inventory, as required by AB 481, at a future meeting,” Ezroj wrote.
“The City of Seal Beach has been purchasing ammunition from Dooly Enterprise Inc., which is the sole source distributor for Winchester ammunition on the West Coast, for over 20 years,” Ezroj wrote.
“The purchase is exempt from bidding requirements under Seal Beach Municipal Code Section 3.20.025(B),” Ezroj wrote.
