California state law AB 48 limits police weapons for crowd control
Following violent police suppression of the summer 2020 George Floyd protests, California legislators enacted new state law AB 48, which limits the use of militarized equipment for crowd control. Enacted in 2021, the state law prohibits use of chemical agents and impact projectiles for crowd control except in extreme situations defined in the law, and only after law enforcement has taken several steps to address the situation without these militarized weapons.
AB 48 restricts the use tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and other “less lethal” weapons for crowd control, except “if the use is objectively reasonable to defend against a threat to life or serious bodily injury” or "to bring an objectively dangerous and unlawful situation safety and effectively under control."
In these narrowly defined situations, law enforcement may only legally use these weapons after:
- Reasonable de-escalation efforts have been attempted and failed
- Announcing that "less lethal" weapons will be used, and doing so in appropriate languages
- Allowing an opportunity to leave the scene
- Only targeting persons involved in violent acts. "Projectiles shall not be aimed indiscriminately into a crowd or group of persons."
Even when weapons are authorized and these steps are taken, the law includes outright prohibitions on:
- Targeting the head, neck, or vital organs with these weapons
- Using these weapons solely in response to a curfew violation, a verbal threat, or noncompliance with a directive from law enforcement
The weapons can only be lawfully "used only with the frequency, intensity, and in a manner that is proportional to the threat and objectively reasonable."
AB48's restrictions are codified in Section 13652 of the California Penal Code. All California law enforcement officers and agencies - including police, sheriffs, and California Highway Patrol - are bound by this law. If you witness officers using chemical or projectile weapons in crowd situations, please document all that you see, including types of weapons, impacts on people, agencies involved, officer names and badge numbers, what if any warnings were given, and other circumstances.
These protections do not extend to federal agents or "flashbangs" or protect those detained in California jails or incarcerated in California prisons
While state law protects people in public from police deploying these militarized weapons into crowds, there is no state law that protects against this state violence in California's jails and prisons. In addition, restrictions on using weapons for crowd control do not apply to federal agents. AB48 also does not apply to the use of "flashbang" weapons - stun grenades that emit sudden very loud noise and bright light - unless they release chemical agents or pellets.
