For the first time in Fresno’s history, the city’s police department will hold a required community engagement meeting about the military equipment in its possession Wednesday evening.
The new meeting got on the calendar after Fresno residents sounded the alarm over whether Fresno police is in compliance with a state law known as AB 481, which requires local law enforcement agencies to host an annual community engagement meeting about their military equipment and its uses.
Even though the law was approved in 2021 and went into effect in 2022, the Fresno Police Department never held annual community engagement meetings about its military equipment in subsequent years — as required by AB 481.
Now, four years after the law came into effect, the city still may not be in compliance — even with the community engagement meeting.
AB 481 lists a number of details that local law enforcement agencies need to transparently include in an annual report on how they use military equipment.
That includes how local police actually use the military equipment in their possession — like SWAT vehicles, military sniper rifles and drones.
The Fresno Police Department’s latest annual military equipment report — released last week — does not explain how its officers used military equipment in 2025.
Neither did the police department’s annual reports for 2022, 2023 and 2024.
That’s why Fresno residents are, for the second year in a row, calling on the Fresno City Council to table the annual report, which is up for consideration on the consent agenda for Thursday’s city council meeting, until the Fresno Police Department fully complies with state law.
“This is a just and lawful right extended to us by the State of California,” Fresno resident Arieana Castellanos told Fresnoland. “It’s not a favor or demand, it’s just you’re required to do it.”
Castellanos has aired her concerns about the transparency of the Fresno Police Department’s use of military equipment since last year. She noted that AB 481 is designed to increase police transparency and help the community understand whether the use of military equipment is cost effective.
“I’d like to see my councilmembers pull this item again, put it for the next city council meeting, and instruct the police department to address these issues to be in compliance with the law,” Castellanos told Fresnoland.
Transparency concerns aren’t new
The upcoming Wednesday community engagement meeting on the use of military equipment by the Fresno Police Department is progress compared to last year.
Castellanos was one of a few people who showed up to an April 2025 Fresno City Council meeting, calling against the approval of the police department’s annual military equipment report since it never held a community engagement meeting.
While it didn’t lead to immediate change, it caused Councilmember Nelson Esparza to ask City Attorney Andrew Janz for confirmation that the police department was complying with state law.
Janz explained how there’s a 30-day noticing requirement for the police department’s annual report on military equipment use. He also touched on the community engagement meeting requirement in state law, and suggested that the city is, technically, compliant.
“The law also calls for a community meeting where questions may be asked and discussion had,” Janz said at the April 2025 city council meeting. “Doesn’t really describe a format, per se, but we’ve advised the city manager that this is the community meeting that complies with the law.”
Janz said that referring to the opportunity for members of the public to make a public comment at the April 10 Fresno City Council meeting, which exists at every city council meeting, although usually at different times.
Castellanos said her concerns were disregarded by city officials last year.
“I felt like it was a violation of our rights, like that state law extends a right to me,” Castellanos said. “Then they (city officials) were just like, ‘We don’t care.’ So I felt bad.”
On Tuesday, Fresnoland received confirmation from the Fresno Police Department that the city’s legal interpretation hasn’t changed, even though its practices this year are different.
“I confirmed that (Wednesday) night’s public meeting about the military equipment report is the first one we have done that was specifically hosted by Fresno PD,” said police spokesperson Larry Bowlan via email on Tuesday afternoon. “The prior year notifications were done through City Hall by posting on their council meeting agenda about the military equipment report and allowing the public to make any public comments about the report, prior to the council voting on it.”
It’s unclear how or why city officials have, for years, legally interpreted general public comment at council meetings as the “community engagement meeting” required under AB 481. It’s also unclear exactly why the Fresno Police Department is now hosting its first engagement meeting about military equipment use.
Janz did not respond to Fresnoland’s request for comment.
Bowlan told Fresnoland that the decision to host the Fresno Police Department’s first-ever community engagement meeting about military equipment on Wednesday was not scheduled in response to community feedback.
Will police address community concerns and questions?
While Castellanos has been on the forefront in Fresno of advocating for compliance with AB 481, advocates elsewhere have also been pushing local governments to follow the state law’s requirements too.
John Lindsay-Poland is the co-director of the California Healing Justice program focused on ending mass incarceration, demilitarizing police and promoting healing alternatives. The program is run through the national American Friends Service Committee and has documented the military weapons stock of Bay Area law enforcement agencies.
It also collaborated with the ACLU of Northern California on a memo explaining what local compliance with AB 481 should look like.
Lindsay-Poland told Fresnoland via email that state law requires local law enforcement agencies to host community engagement meetings about its use of military equipment — not local governing bodies like a city council.
“The law requires that the law enforcement agency itself hold such a community meeting, at which the public ‘may discuss and ask questions regarding the annual military equipment report.’” Lindsay-Poland told Fresnoland via email. “A Brown-Acted City Council meeting does not permit “discussion”, nor responses from the dais to questions the public asks. The community engagement meeting must also be “well publicized and conveniently located,” and a daytime City Council meeting arguably does not qualify as either.”
Although Fresno police’s annual military equipment use reports list how many times it used various military equipment, as well as authorized uses, the report does not explain how their officers have actually used military equipment.
Lindsay-Poland said state law requires the disclosure of how military equipment is used.
“Fresno PD includes a statement (on) what purposes are authorized for use of each type of equipment, but not the purpose for which the equipment was actually used in the previous year, which is what the law requires and what interests community members,” Lindsay-Poland said.
Now that Fresno police will hold a community engagement meeting about one year later, Castellanos said she is hopeful that the police department will actually answer and address questions and concerns from community members.
A number of those concerns were made in writing and also vocalized at the March 19 city council meeting, as the latest annual report was originally slated for approval prior last week prior to the Wednesday community engagement meeting.
Bowlan, the police department spokesperson, said that was a mistake, as it was changed into a presentation item at the beginning of the meeting last week.
However, she said there are still remaining AB 481 compliance issues for the Fresno Police Department. On top of not listing how Fresno police have used military equipment, the annual report also doesn’t list personnel costs, a required disclosure under state law.
She added that more detail in the police department’s annual report would be helpful, since AB 481 is designed to transparently share information with the public in the context of identifying cost-effectiveness.
Castellanos noted Fresno police use of armored vehicles jumped in 2025, compared to the year prior. She said complying with state law and explaining how it was used would help the public understand why that happened.
“We had a 27% reduction in shootings last year compared to the year before,” Castellanos said. “So why did the number of SWAT number vehicle deployments increase so much? So there’s conversations that we want to have.”
Less than 24 hours after the Wednesday community engagement meeting, the Fresno City Council will be set to consider adopting the annual military equipment report. It’s unclear whether the item will get pulled for discussion or be modified, since the report does not state how military equipment was used by Fresno police officers.
Castellanos also questioned whether less than 24 hours is enough time for the Fresno City Council to understand community concerns and then consider the annual military equipment report.
Esparza, who is now the Fresno City Council president, did not respond to a question about whether the item was ready for consideration. Prior to being asked that question, he told Fresnoland he’d “likely” be supporting the approval of the annual report on Thursday.
He added his appreciation for the community engagement meeting, describing it as going above and beyond the law, even though it’s a requirement under AB 481.
“I also appreciate the department having an additional community meeting that goes above and beyond the requirements spelled out in state law, that the City has been following,” Esparza said.
The community engagement meeting will take place at 6 p.m. inside city council chambers on the second floor of the Fresno City Hall building.
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