Members of the advocacy group Fresnans for a People’s Budget hold up signs that say “Not True!” at Fresno police departments first ever public engagement meeting on its annual military equipment use report.
LILIANA FANNIN
The Fresno City Council unanimously approved the police department’s 2025 Military Equipment Report despite some residents’ concerns over its transparency and compliance with state law.
Thursday’s approval came one day after the department held the city’s first-ever community engagement meeting about the military equipment in its possession. Of the approximately 25 residents in attendance, most asked for the report’s approval to be delayed, so council members could have sufficient time to hear their concerns.
Members of the advocacy group Fresnans for a People’s Budget (FPB) argued a community meeting should have been held every year since state law AB 481, which aims to increase transparency and accountability regarding the use of military-grade equipment, went into effect in 2022.
Members of the advocacy group Fresnans for a People’s Budget hold up signs that say “Not True!” at Fresno police departments first ever public engagement meeting on its annual military equipment use report. LILIANA FANNIN
The California law requires a community engagement meeting to be held annually by police on its yearly military equipment report, and the report must gain approval from its governing body.
Fresno Deputy Police Chief Burke Farrah said that community meetings were not held in prior years because the City Attorney’s Office deemed City Council meetings sufficient. He said the council urged the department to hold one anyway this year because of the amount of community concern surrounding the report.
Arieana Castellanos, a mental health professional and member of FPB, said the city should be more transparent about its use of military equipment. She said the city is supposed to hold community meetings to allow the public to ask police officials questions about the equipment’s use.
“There’s not an opportunity at City Hall when this item is on the consent agenda; you can provide public comment, but we’re not getting a dialogue as intended by law,” she said.
Even with this year’s community engagement meeting, some say Fresno’s report is still not in compliance with AB 481 because it does not list personnel and training costs for each military equipment item.
Some community members also said they would like to see the report include not just how often each kind of equipment — from drones to snipers — was used, but also under what circumstances they were used and in what area of the city.
Drones. Fresno Police Department 2025 Military Equipment Annual Report PowerPoint
Castellanos said this information would be useful to have “so that we can have effective conversations and understand where the gap is with meeting people’s needs who are at risk of hurting themselves or others.”
Members of FPB were disappointed that no council members were present at Wednesday’s meeting to hear their concerns before approving the report, and urged for more transparency when it comes to the department’s use of military equipment and spending.
At the council meeting on Thursday, Arias said he did not think councilmembers needed to attend the community outreach meeting because they could ask their questions about the report to the police department officials directly at council meetings.
“From my perspective, us attending would only distract from the public’s opportunity to have a direct conversation with the police department about their rationale for the equipment,” he said.
Farrah said he would take the feedback he received to Chief Mindy Casto and the Fresno City Council, and is open to making adjustments in the future, including more public outreach, inviting the community to attend future meetings.
“This isn’t about militarizing police; this is about accountability and to make sure we use this equipment correctly,” Farrah said.
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