LAPD Faces Scrutiny After Failing to Follow Military Equipment Transparency Law
By Rosie Knight, Columnist
In an extensive audit that was published by the City Controller this week, Kenneth Mejia’s officedressed down the Los Angeles Police Dept. over their failure to comply with segments of Assembly Bill 481. Random Lengths News has already reported on the Port Police and their attempts to comply with the transparency bill. AB 481 requires law enforcement agencies to “develop a military equipment use policy which includes a description of each type of military equipment in their possession. Submit this use policy to their governing body for approval, and obtain approval from the governing body within 180 days. Submit within one year of the approval of the policy, and then annually thereafter, a military equipment report which details the LEA’s military equipment inventory, usage, and costs for the prior year.”
The Assembly Bill was passed in 2021, in part because of large payouts due to the misuse of military equipment against civilians, which the audit highlights with three grim examples.
- $3.75 million: Awarded by a jury to a young man who was shot twice by military projectiles during a protest
- $1.5 million: City settlement with a man who suffered testicular trauma when LAPD shot him in the groin with a 40-millimeter launcher reportedly causing one of his testicles to explode and require immediate surgery
- $1.25 million: City settlement with a Marine Corps service member who suffered a traumatic brain injury and brain bleeding when LAPD shot him in the head with a beanbag shotgun during a protest.
As we previously reported in our article, “How Safe is the “Less Lethal” Ammunition Touted by the LA Port Police and Beyond?”, these less-than-lethal weapons are deeply dangerous and damaging to the point where Amnesty International investigated them in a 2023 report. In “The Global Abuse Of Kinetic Impact Projectiles” the organization highlighted the danger and impact of Kinetic Impact Projectiles during the period of the Black Lives Matter protests across America in 2021. “Physicians for Human Rights found that police forces had shot at least 115 people in the head and neck with KIPs across the country in the first two months of protests after the killing of George Floyd, at least 30 of whom had suffered permanent eye damage.”
Despite that history, the City Controller’s audit found that the LAPD failed to meet multiple action items from the assembly bill. The audit also noted the department’s failure to provide an easy way for the public to find the reporting on military weapons online, one of the key purposes of the bill. Another glaring failure the audit highlighted was the LAPD’s failure to submit annual military equipment reports for each type of military equipment approved within a year of approval.
While the audit found that the LAPD at least partially met most goals, the big takeaway was the need for more transparency. The audit found that the LAPD failed to correctly list the amounts of military weapons they had and used vague language to avoid reporting how much military weaponry they wanted funding for.
The audit also compared LAPD’s implementation of certain transparency requirements with other cities including San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland. LAPD trailed behind these other cities with 0/7 requirements met compared to 7/7 in Oakland, 5/7 in Long Beach, and another 7/7 in Sacramento.
The extensive 60-page audit is just the latest from Mejia, who since being elected in 2022 has extensively audited city spending on police helicopters, fraud, waste, abuse and more. Upcoming audits include Affordable Housing and Karen Bass’ controversial Inside Safe program.
In conclusion, the City Controller said, “AB 481 was passed to increase public awareness about the funding, acquisition, and use of military equipment by law enforcement agencies. As the LAPD develops future reports, the department must ensure that it complies with all aspects of the law, that the information in the report is reliable and provides additional levels of transparency. This, in addition to improving the methods by which the public interacts with the LAPD on military equipment issues, will help to build trust between the LAPD and members of the public, and allow for meaningful community engagement.”
In part of a response letter printed in the AB 481 audit, the LAPD said that they “in general agree with the facts listed in your audit, however, we respectfully disagree with your interpretation of the facts and whether the department met the requirements of AB 481.”