The Chico Police Department will host a public meeting Feb. 23 to review its 2025 Military Equipment Use Annual Report and discuss inventory expansion ahead of a required City Council hearing in March.
The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Old Municipal Building, 441 Main St. According to the department, the report details the types and amounts of state-defined military equipment used in 2025, how and why the equipment was deployed, and whether its use complied with state law and department policy.
The session will also include a review of the proposed military equipment policy in 2026, followed by an opportunity for community members to ask questions and provide feedback.
In its review of the proposed policy, ChicoSol found that the department plans to purchase three additional drones for building a Drone as First Responder program, and seven rifles, to expand the existing inventory. Drones will cost $20,000 each and rifles will cost $1,400 each.
In addition, the police department proposes to purchase three incident command vehicles and pepper ball launchers and projectiles.
Three incident command vehicles are expected to cost between $355,000 and $522,000 each. The policy states that the purchase was approved during the department’s 2024 budget request, but funding was not available at that time. It adds that pricing has since changed.
The existing inventory includes two robots at a total cost of $113,000.
The policy outlines the purpose of the robots.
“To be used to provide protection from suspected and known explosive hazards,” it states. “They are also used in tactical support of special operations and can be used to gain visual/audio data, deliver a Crisis Negotiation Team phone, open doors and clear buildings.”
In addition to the initial purchase cost, the Capital Improvement Project sets aside $10,000 annually for replacement of the robots.
The proposed policy and last year’s report are available on the City website. Community members can also submit questions in advance to Capt. Omar Peña at om*******@*****ca.gov with the subject line “Military Equipment Meeting.”
The City Council is scheduled to review and consider approval of the policy at its March 3 meeting. Last year, during the Council meeting, some Chico residents expressed concern about potential use of the equipment on peaceful protesters and possible infringements on their First Amendment rights.
Yucheng Tang covers city government for ChicoSol.
2 Comments
The citizens of Chico, the City Council, and the administration should be educated on the standards and practices the CPD will follow in deploying the new weaponry, including sharing past successes… and unsuccessful uses… of the recently purchased military-style weaponry, and the planned use of the new weaponry to be purchased. Examples such as case studies and scenarios would help the taxpayers, students, residents, and politicians understand why the need for military-style weaponry is necessary, given that it was 1939 when the last CPD officer was killed in the line of duty. Chico PD officers have killed numerous citizens over the past few years and as recently as March, 2025. A “less lethal” weapon is still LETHAL. The people need to know if weapons such as “supersox” metal pellets fired by rifles… euphemistically called “launchers” and once misnamed as “bean bag rounds” and pepper spray launchers also fired by rifles, , will calm down a citizen in a mental crisis, and explain to the public that the military-style weapons will be used in a lawful police action that will save the lives of citizens and improve officer mental and physical health and safety. If the public has concerns, the town hall meeting with CPD officials and citizens should be conducted …without a three minute public comment restriction… by the City Council so that citizens can directly share their views and ask questions before any equipment is purchased with taxpayer money. No equipment should be purchased until the standards and practices are known to all.
One of the robots that CPD owns is armed….with a hot gas delivery system, which (according to the CPD description) “allows for deploying hot gas safely inside a house or building”.
The “hot gas” is a euphemism for chemical agents e.g. tear gas, which is the most damaging to human lung and eye tissues when deployed inside, and when exposure is prolonged, causing blindness, suffocation, and even death.
There is a push-the-button ease of remote control use of the robot, which studies have found lowers the psychological barrier to deployment of the hot military grade gas. As the ACLU puts it, Tools that allow force to be used remotely and risk-free for the operator make it inevitable that force will be over-used…..and used sloppily, hitting unintended targets”. Chico PD should consider adopting Oakland PD’s robot policy, that no robot be used as force on a person.
Supersox beanbag rounds (not beans but lead pellets) which can cause severe injury and death if they hit vulnerable areas, should be removed from service.