San Jose police to get $400K in military equipment

San Jose leaders have greenlit the purchase of more than $400,000 in military equipment for the city’s police department to replenish its existing inventory of weapons and devices.

Approved purchases for San Jose police officers include 125 new .556 caliber patrol rifles for $112,132 and close to $100,000 in new rifles for use by the MERGE unit — also known as SWAT teams. Such purchases have become controversial in recent years, as military-grade weapons used during protests against police brutality led to community members filing costly lawsuits.

The estimated annual cost of maintaining existing equipment and reloading on ammunition is close to $500,000, Lt. Mike O’Neil, acting captain of the San Jose Police Department’s special operations division, said Tuesday.

“This equipment is necessary as there is no alternative that can achieve the same objective to allow officer safety, as well as safety of our community members. It’s reasonably cost effective compared to the available alternatives,” he said at the meeting. “The military equipment shall only be used by department members that had training, including of course, required by the condition of Peace Officers Standards and Training.”

O’Neil also said SJPD has received no complaints or government violations on the use of its military-grade equipment since 2023.

But police use of tactical equipment cost San Jose more than $3 million last year after the city settled a federal lawsuit with a man named Michael Costa, who alleged losing an eye when police shot him with a projectile during a May 2020 protest against police brutality.

Multiple people who were part of the Costa lawsuit said they were also struck by police projectiles, bean bags, bludgeoned with batons and more.

Overall complaints filed against San Jose police officers increased from 2022 to 2023, according to the city’s independent police auditor — going from 362 complaints to 367 even though the police force shrank about 16%.

Councilmember Arjun Batra pointed to the estimated $345,000 annual cost of maintaining more than 400 military-grade rifles and asked interim Police Chief Paul Joseph why so much is being spent to maintain weapons that haven’t been deployed since 2023.

“Deployment was perhaps not the most appropriate word to use to describe what we’re trying to convey here,” Joseph said Tuesday. “We did not fire those weapons at anybody, but they were definitely used on a regular basis.”

Batra told San José Spotlight he’s satisfied with the police department’s managing of military equipment, but the reporting and record keeping needs to be more clear.

“The public needs to know about these kinds of things,” he said. “They have to have confidence our law enforcement is doing the right job and rendering justice equally to everyone.”
Along with additional rifles, SJPD is set to purchase multiple surveillance drones, sound cannons and a bomb squad robot. Referred to by police as unmanned aerial systems, the police department already has 26 drones, but plans to double that number.

Councilmember Peter Ortiz asked if the police department has implemented a program used by other police agencies where drones are used in place of first responders. Joseph said SJPD doesn’t yet have that capability, and though a “drone as first responder” program would be hard for a large city like San Jose, he would like to explore options down the road.

I think there’s more questions to answer and protections to put in place before such a program would begin in earnest, including ensuring that our residents’ civil liberties are protected,” Ortiz told San José Spotlight.