{"id":238565,"date":"2026-03-27T03:03:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T03:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/238565\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T03:03:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T03:03:17","slug":"fresno-council-approves-military-equipment-report-amid-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/238565\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno council approves military equipment report amid concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Members<\/p>\n

Members of the advocacy group Fresnans for a People\u2019s Budget hold up signs that say \u201cNot True!\u201d at Fresno police departments first ever public engagement meeting on its annual military equipment use report.<\/p>\n

LILIANA FANNIN<\/p>\n

The Fresno City Council unanimously approved the police department\u2019s 2025 Military Equipment Report despite some residents\u2019 concerns over its transparency and compliance with state law.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s approval came one day after the department held the city\u2019s first-ever community engagement meeting about the military equipment in its possession. Of the approximately 25 residents in attendance, most asked for the report\u2019s approval to be delayed, so council members could have sufficient time to hear their concerns.<\/p>\n

Members of the advocacy group Fresnans for a People\u2019s Budget (FPB)<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\"Members Members of the advocacy group Fresnans for a People\u2019s Budget hold up signs that say \u201cNot True!\u201d at Fresno police departments first ever public engagement meeting on its annual military equipment use report. LILIANA FANNIN <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Fresno Deputy Police Chief Burke Farrah said that community meetings were not held in prior years because the City Attorney\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s use.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not an opportunity at City Hall when this item is on the consent agenda; you can provide public comment, but we\u2019re not getting a dialogue as intended by law,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Even with this year\u2019s community engagement meeting, some say Fresno\u2019s report is still not in compliance with AB 481 because it does not list personnel and training costs for each military equipment item.<\/p>\n

Some community members also said they would like to see the report include not just how often each kind of equipment \u2014 from drones to snipers \u2014 was used<\/a>, but also under what circumstances they were used and in what area of the city.<\/p>\n

\"Drones.\"\/ Drones. Fresno Police Department 2025 Military Equipment Annual Report PowerPoint <\/p>\n

Castellanos said this information would be useful to have \u201cso that we can have effective conversations and understand where the gap is with meeting people\u2019s needs who are at risk of hurting themselves or others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of FPB were disappointed that no council members were present at Wednesday\u2019s meeting to hear their concerns before approving the report, and urged for more transparency when it comes to the department\u2019s use of military equipment and spending.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my perspective, us attending would only distract from the public\u2019s opportunity to have a direct conversation with the police department about their rationale for the equipment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about militarizing police; this is about accountability and to make sure we use this equipment correctly,\u201d Farrah said.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n