Berkeley, California Development News

Berkeley City Council Updates Police Mutual Aid Policies, Allowing Expanded Use of Canine and Air Support

The City Council voted to rescind a 1982 resolution that restricted the use of air support and canine units by the Berkeley Police Department, and adopted updated mutual aid policies. This change modernizes the policy to reflect current operational realities and best practices, streamlining the approval process from the City Manager to a watch commander pre-approval with a post-deployment notification framework. The resolution also expands authorized uses to include suspect apprehension for violent felonies, residential burglaries, and high-risk warrant services, while maintaining prohibitions on crowd control and adding new categorical prohibitions. Council members debated the necessity of the changes, potential risks, and the historical context, with public commenters largely opposing the expansion of police tools and expressing concerns about potential misuse, historical racial disparities, and a lack of demonstrated need. The council ultimately voted to adopt the resolution with amendments, including severing the vote on canine deployments from helicopter support, accepting amendments to specify "deadly weapon" and "residential burglary in progress," and adding "homeless encampment abatements" as a prohibited use. A separate vote was taken to take no action on item 23B, a related recommendation from the Peace and Justice Commission. The discussion on the original item 23A was extensive, involving numerous public speakers and council member questions regarding the details of canine and air support use, training, accountability, and historical context.