Number
200274
Version
SUBSTITUTE 1
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. COGGS, KOVAC, PEREZ, LEWIS, AND STAMPER
Title
Substitute resolution directing that Police Department purchases of crowd-response, crowd-control, military-grade and militaristic equipment be approved by the Common Council.
Analysis
This resolution requires that Police Department purchases of crowd-response, crowd-control, military-grade and militaristic equipment be approved by the Common Council.
Military-grade equipment is defined as any weapon or equipment typically employed by military entities in the course of armed conflict or for protection during armed threat, including, but not limited to:
Armored personnel carriers Flashbang grenades
Grenade launchers Arms to fire rubber or plastic bullets
Rubber or plastic bullets Tear gas
Heavy body armor Ballistic/riot shields or helmets
Batons Assault or sniper rifles
Submachine guns Long range acoustic devices (sound cannons)
Heavy entry tools Advanced night vision optics
Excluded from this resolution is equipment purchased, requisitioned or otherwise procured for daily and routine use by a police officer in the course of executing an officer’s normally assigned duties.
Body
Whereas, The deployment of crowd-response, crowd-control, military-grade and militaristic equipment by police departments in response to peaceful gatherings to protest social and racial injustices is often seen as an overreaction by those gathering and can create a climate of mistrust and animosity; and
Whereas, The mere knowledge that the police have crowd-response, crowd-control, military-grade and militaristic equipment in reserve ready to quickly deploy can similarly create an atmosphere of tension and foreboding among those gathered; and
Whereas, The deployment, or the mere presence in reserve, of crowd-control, military-grade and militaristic equipment can incite the violent clashes between police and protesters this equipment is intended to prevent or quell; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of Milwaukee, that the Police Department shall obtain approval by resolution from the Common Council before seeking to purchase, requisition or otherwise procure military-grade equipment from the city purchasing director using budgeted funds; and, be it
Further Resolved, Military-grade equipment subject to this resolution shall be any weapon or equipment typically employed by military entities in the course of armed conflict or for protection during armed threat, including, but not limited to:
Armored personnel carriers Flashbang grenades
Grenade launchers Arms to fire rubber or plastic bullets
Rubber or plastic bullets Tear gas
Heavy body armor Ballistic/riot shields or helmets
Batons Assault or sniper rifles
Submachine guns Long range acoustic devices (sound cannons)
Heavy entry tools Advanced night vision optics
and, be it
Further Resolved. That equipment purchased, requisitioned or otherwise procured for daily and routine use by a police officer in the course of executing an officer’s normally assigned duties shall not be subject to this resolution; and, be it
Further Resolved, That when the Common Council delegates the authority by resolution to the Police Department or another department to expend special funds, the Police Department must obtain approval by resolution from the Common Council before it may seek to purchase, requisition or otherwise procure military-grade equipment using those funds.
Drafter
LRB 176143-2
Aaron Cadle
June 23, 2020