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For galore nationalist colleges and universities successful California, keeping their campuses safe includes owning military-grade weaponry: AR-15s, stun grenades designed to origin impermanent blindness and sonic weapons that resonate truthful loudly they are known successful nan equipped forces arsenic nan sound of God.
According to California state law, field constabulary tin only ain subject instrumentality if nan assemblage believes location is nary different measurement to uphold civilian safety.
That law, which passed successful 2021, besides requires constabulary to make each their instrumentality dealings exceedingly clear to nan public. However, not each assemblage follows each portion of nan law, according to an investigation by CalMatters into each 148 nationalist campuses successful nan California Community Colleges, University of California and California State University systems.
Each campus’s authorities aliases territory governing committee – which gives support for constabulary to procure specified items – has to annually re-approve a usage policy, a chronicle of erstwhile nan instrumentality has been utilized and an inventory. Once nan study is approved and published online, field constabulary person 30 days to clasp a conveniently located and “well-publicized” forum for nan nationalist to study astir and springiness feedback connected nan equipment, according to authorities law.
CalMatters attempted to compile nan 2025 yearly reports and usage policies from each nationalist higher acquisition constabulary section successful nan authorities that owns subject equipment.
Several field constabulary departments created reports aft CalMatters’ inquiries, though nan rule requires nan documents to beryllium posted online arsenic agelong arsenic nan instrumentality is usable. Not each reports aliases policies contained nan specifications mandated by nan 2021 law; successful galore cases, campuses near retired information, including manufacturers’ merchandise descriptions, up-to-date inventories and instrumentality quantities. The University of California committee of regents approved UC Berkeley’s yearly study past September, but assemblage constabulary only published their instrumentality database connected 7 April, aft 4 CalMatters inquiries.
According to their ain reports, San Jose State University and San Francisco State University ain AR-15s moreover though Cal State’s argumentation does not authorize this. Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith said these AR-15s are modular issue, which would exempt them from nan reporting requirement, moreover though San Jose’s study classifies them arsenic specialized firearms and assemblage constabulary departments find which instrumentality is modular issue. San Francisco State’s semi-automatic rifles are modular rumor and won’t beryllium listed successful nan yearly study going forward, assemblage spokesperson Robert King said.
Campus constabulary besides must taxable their yearly study to their territory aliases authorities governing boards. Chico State and Cal State Northridge constabulary said their reports are sent to nan Cal State chancellor’s office, which nan systemwide argumentation requires. But Klarissa Garcia, executive adjunct to nan main of constabulary astatine Cal State Dominguez Hills, said her section does not taxable its study to immoderate governing body.
Multiple constabulary departments, including Cal Poly Humboldt and Cal State Sonoma, said they did not clasp a field forum successful 2025, nor did they respond to inquiries astir erstwhile nan required nationalist gathering was held. Many departments said they held meetings, but did not reply questions astir really they publicized them, aliases said they posted announcements connected societal media without immoderate grounds of it connected their accounts.
The Cal State committee of trustees has not reviewed nan systemwide instrumentality argumentation astatine a nationalist gathering since 2022, though nan argumentation is expected to beryllium renewed astatine slightest annually. Under nan argumentation nan committee adopted, nan trustees only request to cheque nan argumentation again if nan assemblage strategy wants to authorize caller types of equipment, Bentley-Smith told CalMatters. She added that Cal State will re-examine nan argumentation to guarantee it follows nan law.
Several organization colleges were missing subject instrumentality policies and reports. The assemblage system’s chancellor’s agency does not way whether colleges travel nan transparency law, according to communications master Melissa Villarin.
CalMatters utilized yearly reports to create a wide inventory of nan instrumentality recovered astatine California higher acquisition institutions, which includes hundreds of semi-automatic rifles, thousands of munitions containing nan aforesaid chemic arsenic chili peppers, and hundreds of thousands of firearm munitions. Some reports did not database quantities contempt nan ineligible requirement; CalMatters originated different documents posted connected field websites aliases straight asked for those figures.
The subject instrumentality law, written by erstwhile nan Democratic Assembly personnel David Chiu, now nan metropolis lawyer of San Francisco, only applies to field constabulary departments pinch sworn constabulary officers. Campus information aliases information departments pinch unsworn unit do not person to study their equipment. More than 40 organization colleges told CalMatters they did not record a report.
It’s not conscionable constabulary utilizing military-grade tools. The Cal State Monterey Bay 2025 study states its emergency guidance squad owns 3 camera drones, which, arsenic remotely piloted aircrafts, are classified arsenic subject instrumentality nether authorities law. The emergency guidance squad reports to nan field main of constabulary but is not itself made up of sworn officers, according to interim constabulary main Yvonne Gordon.
Following CalMatters’ inquiries, respective campuses – arsenic good arsenic nan Cal State strategy – said they were alambaka committed to pursuing nan subject instrumentality transparency rule successful its entirety. In addition, immoderate are downsizing their inventories.
Defense-style weaponry astatine schools
Military instrumentality forums held astatine universities are often sparsely attended, according to respective constabulary departments. But immoderate students are impassioned astir nan issue. At a rally extracurricular a UC committee of regents gathering successful January, nan University of California astatine Los Angeles’s section of nan UC Divest Coalition, an anti-imperialism and anti-militarism student group, criticized nan regents for spending tuition money connected subject equipment, while nan committee convened yards distant successful a schoolhouse ballroom.
UCLA constabulary usage long-range acoustic devices – which emit focused beams of high-volume sound – arsenic elephantine loudspeakers to broadcast announcements to ample crowds. In nan 2024-25 schoolhouse year, nan section deployed these “voice of God” devices 71 times, each during crowd-management situations, defined by nan assemblage arsenic assemblies, protests and demonstrations. Police astatine UC Santa Cruz utilized a akin acoustic instrumentality to springiness dispersal orders during nan 2024 pro-Palestine student encampments.
UCLA does not usage nan acoustic devices to nutrient high-pitched tones, which they are besides tin of emitting, said Richard Mejia, nan head of emergency communications and accusation for nan university’s field information office. But transportation differs from loudness, which is measured successful decibels: a long-range acoustic instrumentality tin nutrient 160 decibels, and sounds complete 120 tin origin imperishable proceeding harm moreover during a short exposure. The assemblage said it doesn’t prescribe a fixed decibel output, adding that it follows national and technological vulnerability regulations, including those from nan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which permits abrupt noises up to 140 decibels. For reference, a bulldozer emits astir 95.
Not each inventoried instrumentality is approved for usage by territory aliases authorities governing boards. An October 2025 memo from San Jose State University states its constabulary section owns 33 teargas grenades, which burst into clouds of choking chemicals erstwhile released and, for immoderate brands, origin “psychological and physiological effects”. The Cal State subject instrumentality argumentation does not authorize utilizing grenades to deploy teargas aliases oleoresin capsicum, nan chili capsicum irritant.
These grenades person “always been successful our armory”, Capt Jermaine Thomas said. “We will ne'er usage them.” He added that nan section plans to destruct them, on pinch nan university’s submachine gun, which is besides not authorized nether Cal State policy.
Bentley-Smith told CalMatters that nan submachine weapon was ne'er added to nan systemwide argumentation manual because nan assemblage ne'er utilized aliases requested support to usage it.
Campus forums alteration successful scope
A promotional website for San Jose State’s 2025 organization forum says nan arena covers existent constabulary initiatives without specifically mentioning subject equipment, but Thomas said that taxable was so discussed.
About 21,500 students be El Camino College successful Los Angeles county, which announced its 2025 meeting, held successful a gymnasium, during 4 different meetings held connected campus: nan Campus Safety and Security Consultation Committee, nan world senate, nan College Council and nan president’s meeting. Police main Matthew Vander Horck said astir 30 group attended. Meanwhile, Capt Jeffrey Chobanian of nan UCLA constabulary department, which serves astir 49,000 students, said nan section utilized societal media to beforehand its 2025 forum, held connected Zoom, but cipher attended.
Some of nan forums go question-and-answer sessions, for illustration nan ones held by San Bernardino Community College territory police, according to their chief, Blake Bonnet. Students and module travel prepared, publication nan argumentation – which includes erstwhile and wherever nan instrumentality tin beryllium utilized – to nan officers and property them straight connected really it will beryllium enforced, Bonnet said.
Bonnet said he publicizes nan yearly gathering done nan constabulary department’s online newsletter, Just nan Facts, which contains crime logs and topical information tips and is sent to students and unit each month.
“People inquire questions and activity clarification,” Bonnet said. “If you don’t understand nan constabulary world – which immoderate group do, immoderate group don’t – if you person a question, I would alternatively you inquire truthful that we tin understand your concern.”
At UC Davis’s yearly forum, gathering participants person asked astir erstwhile and why officers tin deploy weapons, which necessitates astatine slightest yearly trainings, and really nan instrumentality is shared pinch others – since nan schoolhouse has lent drones to different UC campuses for usage successful crowd power and tin get instrumentality from different campuses successful mentation for “major” protests and demonstrations. Last year, an attendee asked whether different constabulary forces tin bring unauthorized subject instrumentality to campus, according to gathering minutes. Capt Mark Brunet responded that they can.
In February 2025, a Mount San Antonio College constabulary advisory committee composed of assemblage and constabulary unit and 2 students met to talk adding AR-15s to nan department’s arsenal. Before long, different students caught upwind of nan plans. Student César Tlatoāni Alvarado said chap students, particularly veterans and students of color, were not comfortable pinch their field becoming militarized.
“The full field was talking astir it,” said Tlatoāni Alvarado, who studies governmental subject and world languages and world studies. They besides served arsenic nan campus’s student trustee for 2 terms, from 2023 to 2025.
By CalMatters’ count, much than 25 nationalist colleges ain semi-automatic rifles, which sprout pinch much precision, accuracy and region than handguns, according to respective schoolhouse policies.
Tlatoāni Alvarado said they were fearful of nan effect of a militarized constabulary unit connected nan field protesting scene, which they said is progressive but peaceful.
“I knew for a truth that this was being done to soundlessness dissent connected our campus,” Tlatoāni Alvarado said.
They led a conjugation of field clubs to show against nan projected purchases and vehemently protestation astatine aggregate constabulary municipality halls. That April, astir 20 students, module and alumni condemned nan scheme to bargain AR-15s astatine nan assemblage district’s committee of trustees’ monthly meeting. The protestors included nan student trustee, who said respective 100 students were progressive successful nan wide effort.
“There were truthful galore students that were yelling,” Tlatoāni Alvarado said. “They were screaming astatine nan administration. They were upset, they were frustrated. They felt betrayed.”
As of June 2026, nan assemblage does not ain semi-automatic rifles. “The chat is still ongoing” connected whether nan assemblage will activity them successful nan future, according to field constabulary main Kelli Florman.
Still, Tlatoāni Alvarado considers nan students’ activity a success.
“It was a batch of work,” they said. “I was 1 of nan students that had led nan measurement successful that campaign. But I couldn’t person done it alone. There were truthful galore of us.”
Fast way to compliance
Compton College president Keith Curry said a February enquiry from CalMatters put nan subject instrumentality rule connected his radar for nan first time. Campus constabulary had issued semi-automatic rifles to patrol officers for much than 7 years, arguing that standard-issue pistols had not efficaciously protected civilians and officers during nan 1997 North Hollywood slope robbery and shootout. The field constabulary section besides owns incapacitating tasers and a submachine gun, nan second of which nan assemblage reports is for perchance lethal situations and to sprout done barriers. However, aft immoderate research, Curry realized his assemblage ne'er adopted an instrumentality usage policy.
“Once I understood that it was not implemented correctly, I went into action mode,” Curry said. “I was calling around, I was calling a constabulary main that I know, I looked connected different websites. I had to dissect nan measure to understand it, myself, astir what’s going on.”
Ultimately, Curry and Compton’s lawyer wrote up a corrective action scheme that his district’s committee of trustees unanimously approved connected 16 March. In accordance pinch nan scheme , nan assemblage approved an charismatic argumentation successful April, held a organization engagement gathering successful May, reviewed an yearly usage study successful June and will update nan constabulary argumentation manual by September.
The compliance reappraisal served arsenic a wide reminder to build transparency betwixt field constabulary and their constituents, Curry said. In April, he announced nan constitution of 3 caller forms of oversight for field police: a student committee, a organization advisory committee and a taskforce reviewing constabulary procedures and policies.
“As a leader, you person to understand what mistakes are made. You person to hole nan mistakes,” Curry said.
After a CalMatters inquiry, Chaffey College officials besides discovered they had nary policy, which main Steven Griffin amended by penning a argumentation that his assemblage committee past passed successful April. Cal State Monterey Bay updated its website pinch an instrumentality policy. Southwestern College modified its yearly study pinch munition quantities. San Joaquin Delta College, Cuesta College and nan Riverside Community College territory each said they are unsure whether their past archiving follows nan law, but were moving to guarantee early compliance.
Other assemblage officials said adjusting their archiving to conform to authorities rule made them reconsider nan devices they have. After taking “immediate steps” to update MiraCosta College’s report, nationalist and governmental relations head Kristen Gonzales said nan field constabulary main planned to “responsibly trim [munition] inventory to a level that aligns pinch our existent operational needs and champion practices”.
Tlatoāni Alvarado said that while field militarization is profoundly concerning, he’s witnessing a increasing inclination of students resisting it.
“College campuses are a focal constituent for wherever our activism tin construe into real-world change,” they said. “Colleges are trying to quash that dissent. But what they request to know, and they request to beryllium made alert of, is that there’s galore much of america than location are of them.”
