Whittier Police Deployed Drones 233 Times in 2025 Military Equipment Report
WHITTIER, Calif. — Whittier police deployed drones 233 times and armored vehicles 19 times during 2025, according to an annual report presented to the City Council under California’s military-equipment transparency law.
The department also reported seven deployments of distraction devices and seven uses of a kinetic breaching tool. Ground robots were not deployed in the field, and officers did not discharge 40-millimeter projectiles, beanbag rounds, pepper-ball systems, chemical agents or patrol rifles during the reporting year.
The City Council unanimously received and filed the annual report and separately introduced Ordinance No. 3178, which would renew the Whittier Police Department’s authority to possess and use equipment classified as “military equipment” under state law.
The ordinance would replace Ordinance No. 3166. Because Tuesday’s action concerned its first reading, the council did not complete final adoption that night.
Drones account for most reported deployments
The 233 drone deployments occurred during a year in which the Whittier Police Department handled approximately 59,700 calls for service.
That means drones were used in connection with a small fraction of the department’s overall calls. The number represents deployments, however, and should not be interpreted as 233 uses of force or 233 arrests.
Police drones can provide officers with an aerial view during searches, tactical incidents, crime-scene investigations and situations in which sending an officer directly into an area could create additional danger.
The department reported 19 armored-vehicle deployments during the same period. Such vehicles may be used to approach dangerous locations, rescue injured people, protect officers or members of the public and provide cover during armed confrontations.
Seven uses of distraction devices were reported. Commonly called flash-bang devices, they produce a sudden burst of light and sound intended to temporarily disorient people during certain high-risk police operations.
The department also reported using a kinetic breaching tool seven times. The tool is used to force entry through doors or other barriers during authorized operations.
What police did not use
Some of the most consequential information in the annual report concerns equipment that was not used in the field or discharged during 2025.
Police reported no field deployments of ground robots. The department also reported no discharge of:
40-millimeter projectiles
Beanbag rounds
Pepper-ball systems
Chemical agents
Patrol rifles
The absence of a discharge does not necessarily mean that an item was never carried, displayed or available during an incident. It means officers did not fire or release it during the reporting period.
The council amended the proposed ordinance to expressly state that no complaints, audit findings or policy violations were attributed to the department’s use of the covered equipment.
Why California calls it “military equipment”
Police Chief Aviv Bar disputed the ordinary meaning that some members of the public may attach to the state’s terminology.
“This equipment is not military equipment; it’s just defined as military equipment,” Bar said. “It’s common law-enforcement equipment.”
California law uses a broad statutory definition that does not depend entirely on whether an item came from the military or was designed exclusively for military service.
The covered categories can include armored vehicles, unmanned aircraft, robots, command vehicles, firearms of specified calibers, chemical agents, distraction devices, projectile-launching systems and other equipment identified by the Legislature.
Consequently, equipment routinely used by civilian law-enforcement agencies may still be legally classified as military equipment for oversight purposes.
The terminology originates from Assembly Bill 481, which took effect in 2022. The law requires law-enforcement agencies to obtain approval from their governing bodies before acquiring, funding or using covered equipment.
It also requires an annual report for as long as the equipment remains available for use.
State law requires continuing oversight
Under Government Code Section 7072, an annual military-equipment report must include how the equipment was used, complaints or concerns received, internal audit results, policy violations, annual costs, the amount of equipment possessed and any planned acquisitions.
The law also requires the agency to make the report publicly available and hold a community-engagement meeting within 30 days of its release so residents can discuss and ask questions about the equipment.
The annual council review is more than a ceremonial presentation. State law allows the governing body to reject renewed authorization for a category of equipment or require changes to the use policy if it determines that the statutory standards have not been satisfied.
Tuesday’s votes were divided into two actions: receiving the annual report and advancing the replacement ordinance. Both passed unanimously.
The ordinance will require another council action before it becomes final. Until then, the annual report provides the public with the clearest numerical account of how frequently Whittier police deployed equipment that California places under heightened civilian oversight.
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