Senate panel advances bill to restrict use of flashbang devices and ban them for immigration enforcement

Senator Gonzales presented SB 9 37 to the Senate Standing Committee on Public Safety, proposing limits on the use of flashbang and explosive breaching devices for crowd control and an explicit ban on their use for immigration enforcement. The committee voted to pass the bill to the Appropriations Committee.

Gonzales said the devices are "military grade explosive pyrotechnic devices" and highlighted documented injuries, including a June 2025 case in Los Angeles where a device fragmented and led to the amputation of a protester’s fingers. The bill would require training for officers who use flashbangs, add flashbangs to existing restrictions on tear gas and kinetic projectiles, and require public reporting of deployments within 60 days.

Supporters included Eduardo Martinez, mayor of Huntington Park, who described protests and policing in Southeast Los Angeles where residents and children were put at risk; Martinez said officers’ deployment of so-called "less lethal" weapons sometimes "escalated" peaceful demonstrations into dangerous encounters. Shana England of the California Community Foundation testified about human-rights reports on injuries and argued the devices have caused "grave harm to residents and terrorized families and children."

Opponents — including the California State Sheriffs Association and the California Police Chiefs Association — raised concerns about imprecise definitions and unintended limits on officers responding to rapidly evolving threats. Corey Salzillo, representing the Sheriffs Association, distinguished between devices that emit only sound and light and those that can produce fragmentation and cautioned that the bill’s language could leave officers uncertain in high-pressure situations. Jonathan Feldman of the Police Chiefs Association urged clearer language on definitions (including what qualifies as a "school") and on exceptions for exigent circumstances and interagency operations under existing SB 54 provisions.

Committee members pressed for clearer definitions and for carve-outs to preserve law-enforcement ability to respond to violent or exigent threats. The author said she would work to define covered devices and align the bill with existing statutory frameworks and training requirements. The committee voted to send SB 9 37 to Appropriations.