Overview
- Escondido’s police chief was set to brief the City Council on Wednesday about a one-year agreement signed in mid-January that grants a DHS unit access to the city’s outdoor range through January 2027, with options to renew.
- The contract allows up to 200 special agents to train in 20-person groups on 20 days per year, paying the city $22,500 annually under a deal that city officials say follows similar arrangements dating back to 2014.
- Mayor Dane White and the police department say only Homeland Security Investigations has used the facility, and police officials stress they do not conduct joint training with federal agents under California’s SB54 limits.
- DHS declined to confirm where its officers train, citing safety concerns and a sharp rise in threats and assaults against agents.
- Opposition intensified with rallies at City Hall, a petition, and a letter from 33 regional elected officials urging the council to cancel the agreement, as residents point to recent accounts of armed, masked federal agents detaining people in North County.