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FILE ART – Oakland police officers downtown. April 26, 2023

OAKLAND, Calif. – A committee is urging the Oakland Police Commission to not buy any new, additional assault rifles, as they say crime is down and the city has other things to prioritize financially. 

“And so acquiring more assault rifles makes no sense, especially when the city is also in a fiscal crisis,” community activist John Lindsay-Poland told KTVU. 

Specifically, Oakland police are seeking the approval from both the police commission, and eventually the city council, to buy 75 new Bravo assault rifles and expand the number of drones, armored vehicles, rubber bullets and chemical agents, according to the annual military use report. 

He and fellow activist Jennifer Tu gave input to the Oakland Police Commission’s Militarized Equipment Ad Hoc Committee, which is recommending to the entire commission on Thursday that Oakland police not be able to purchase any new military-grade gear in the next year, unless that equipment is replacing retired or decommissioned weapons. 

No one from the Oakland Police Commission responded for comment. 

Police say they need these weapons. 

At a meeting on Sept. 2, Oakland Police Lt. William Febel told the Militarized Equipment Ad Hoc Committee that OPD currently has 70 assault rifles, which are more than 10 years old and are at the end of their “barrel life.” 

These weapons are used for high-risk search warrants, for example.

Separately, Lindsay-Poland and Tu originally told KTVU that the Oakland Police Department bought three brands of AR-15s – Seekins, Daniel Defense and Mega Arms — without seeking, or receiving, the proper approval, as is required by state law. 

On Monday, a community member who attends police commission meetings showed KTVU that there was approval for these brands as far back as 2022. 

KTVU erroneously published that information and regrets the error. 

In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 481, which mandates that police departments in California must seek and get approval for, as well as report on, the use of military equipment, and do so every year. Oakland has its own rule, which mirrors state policy, and also includes crowd-control equipment, such as riot batons and shields. 

Lindsay-Poland and Tu are also members of the American Friends Service Committee, which is a Quaker-founded group that works for peace and non-violence. 

Last week, KTVU sent OPD an email seeking comment about the military weapons, but did not hear back. 

However, in the preface to the 2024 military use report, the department said that it is committed to providing the “highest quality of services to the communities” of Oakland, and the equipment listed in the annual report are “essential tools that may be required from time to time to aid in de-escalating intense situations or bringing critical incidents to a safe resolution.” 

The statement from OPD also states that “being transparent with our communities…not only helps with transparency but helps build trust within the communities we serve.” 

Editor’s Note: KTVU erroneously published a story that said OPD did not get approval for three brands of assault rifles. Documents show that they did. 

Oakland Police Department