11 months ago
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MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – UC Merced is among the schools that acquisition subject instrumentality for policing students, raising concerns for immoderate assemblage members and civilian rights groups - however, the assemblage says the purchases are not related to oregon successful mentation for immoderate peculiar incident.
According to a document supplied by the UC Board of Regents, weapons fixed to schools see breaching rounds, distraction devices, Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD), and less-lethal tools, including kinetic vigor and interaction launchers and munitions, arsenic good arsenic chemic agents, specified arsenic capsicum spray oregon teardrop gas.
"All these tools are meant to supply officers with the quality to de-escalate oregon flooded self-destructive, unsafe oregon combative individuals without having to edifice to deadly force," the papers reads.
The Sept. 19 papers besides reports that successful the past year, UC Merced utilized 7 Def-Tec eXact iMpact 40mm munitions for yearly training. This schoolhouse year, the bureau reports that the assemblage intends to acquisition 5 Def-Tec 40mm launchers and 100 Rounds of Model #6324 eXact iMpact™ 40mm Sponge Round munitions.
According to UC Merced officials, they purchased the instrumentality arsenic "the section presently conscionable has 1 launcher and nary rounds for it," and "UCMPD did not acquisition instrumentality this past twelvemonth owed to fund constraints."
Yourcentralvalley.com reached retired to UC Merced. The assemblage sent a connection saying the acquisition of the launchers volition beryllium utilized to proviso each of their patrol cars with little lethal options erstwhile confronted with life-threatening circumstances.
"The extremity is to springiness officers options successful the hopes of amended outcomes for each progressive erstwhile unsafe circumstances hap connected campus," the assemblage said successful a statement.
Officials with UC Merced accidental that though the weapons are termed subject equipment, arsenic they are not disposable for acquisition by the wide public, "UCPD’s instrumentality is not subject surplus, nor is it military-grade oregon designed for subject use. The university’s constabulary departments bash not usage instrumentality from the U.S. Department of Defense."
Although the taxable surrounding UC's acquisition of the instrumentality has received caller media attention, according to assemblage officials, yearly reports of the acquisition are a regular docket item.
"The Board of Regents annually approves the argumentation governing the funding, acquisition, and use
of subject instrumentality by UC Police Departments, successful bid to comply with Assembly Bill (AB)
481, passed successful 2021. The intent of AB 481 is to amended transparency, oversight, and
accountability successful the usage and acquisition of definite instrumentality by instrumentality enforcement agencies
across California."
Despite the permissibility of the purchases, immoderate are acrophobic astir the imaginable ramifications, including civilian rights groups specified arsenic the non-profit CAIR.
"While the UC medication states that subject instrumentality is utilized by field constabulary officers for de-escalation purposes to beforehand nationalist safety, these incidents amusement that the instrumentality has alternatively been utilized to soundlessness and suppress students’ peaceful protests for Palestinian quality rights," an nonfiction by CAIR reads.
