New Report Reveals Plans for SFPD Military Gear Spending Spree and Robot Dogs; Supervisor Dean Preston Calls for Oversight Amid Budget Deficit
On Thursday, June 21st, Supervisor Dean Preston, Chair of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, called for greater oversight after learning that the San Francisco Police Department is seeking to acquire a plethora of military gear, and is “exploring” for the first time the use of controversial police robot dogs . The bombshell disclosure from SFPD came after the department missed its January 2024 deadline to lay out military equipment plans and Preston and his team formally and informally pressed the department to file its legally-mandated annual report pursuant to Assembly Bill 481 (Chiu). After five months of delay, SFPD quietly uploaded its report to its website on June 11th without notifying the Board.
“It is now clear why SFPD delayed for months,” stated Supervisor Preston. “The report outlines a spending spree for military equipment that’s fundamentally inconsistent with the budget reality in our city. Most alarming, buried in the report is the admission that SFPD is considering acquiring, for the first time, robot police dogs that have been highly controversial in other cities.”
Per projections based on SFPD’s reports, it appears that SFPD intends to spend at least $750K1 acquiring new military equipment in the midst of a budget deficit of nearly $790 million budget deficit over the next two fiscal years. Meanwhile, essential services – like food for the hungry, anti-sexual exploitation programs, violence prevention, and youth programs – are being cut. This military equipment – including two more Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs) used against protesters, more machine guns, and now even robot dogs – will not make us safer and are a waste of taxpayer money.
“San Franciscans don’t want dystopian police robot dogs – they want police to show up when they call 911,” stated Preston.
Supervisor Preston has requested that SFPD clarify its plans and rationale for acquiring the equipment and is urging the Mayor and Board of Supervisors to engage in further oversight of those plans before finalizing the budget.
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1 Estimate based on SFPD reports and fair market value for equipment. The SFPD report excludes information about costs and certain types of military equipment, including military-grade drones.
