SWAT

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This article is about Special Weapons and Tactics. For other uses, see Swat.
Members of the 60th Security Police Squadron's Base SWAT Team wearing black uniforms and standing with M-9 pistols ready behind covering foliage at Travis Air Force Base.

SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics; originally Special Weapons Assault Team) is a specialized unit in many United States police departments, which is trained to perform dangerous operations. These can include serving high-risk arrest warrants, performing hostage rescue, preventing terrorist attacks, and engaging heavily-armed criminals. SWAT teams are equipped with specialized firearms including submachine guns, shotguns, carbines, tear gas, stun grenades, and high-powered rifles for marksmen (snipers). They often have specialized equipment including heavy body armor, entry tools, steel reinforced boots and night vision optics.

History

File:LosAngelesSWAT.jpg
The LAPD SWAT team was one of the earliest groups to form in the United States.

The development of SWAT is generally credited to the Los Angeles Police Department, in particular to then-inspector Daryl Gates, in 1967. In Gates’ autobiography, “Chief: My Life in the LAPD" (Bantam Books, 1992), he explained that he neither developed SWAT tactics nor its distinctive equipment. Gates wrote that he supported the concept, tried to empower his people to develop the concept, and lent them moral support. [1]

Parenthetically, Gates wrote that he originally wanted to name the platoon “Special Weapons Attack Teams”. However, this name was turned down by his boss, then-deputy police chief Ed Davis.

Officer John Nelson came up with the idea to form a specially trained and equipped unit, intended to respond to and manage critical situations while minimizing police casualties. Inspector Gates approved this idea, and he formed a small select group of volunteer officers. This first SWAT unit was initially constituted with fifteen teams of four men each, for a total staff of sixty. These officers were given special status and benefits. They were required to attend special monthly training. This unit also served as a security unit for police facilities during civil unrest. The LAPD SWAT units were organized as "D Platoon" in the Metro division. [1]

A report issued by the Los Angeles Police Department, following the so-called SLA Shoot-out in 1974, offers one of the few first-hand accounts by the department regarding SWAT history, operations, and organization. [2]

On page 100 of the report, the Department cites four trends which prompted the development of SWAT. This includes riots which in the 1960s forced police departments into tactical situations for which they were ill-prepared, the emergence of snipers as a challenge to civil order, the appearance of the political assassin, and the threat of urban guerrilla warfare by militant groups.

“The unpredictability of the sniper and his anticipation of normal police response increases the chances of death or injury to officers. To commit conventionally trained officers to a confrontation with a guerilla-trained militant group would likely result in a high number of casualties among the officers and the escape of the guerillas.” To deal with these under conditions of urban violence, the LAPD formed SWAT, notes the report.

The report states on page 109, “The purpose of SWAT is to provide protection, support, security, firepower, and rescue to police operations in high personal risk situations where specialized tactics are necessary to minimize casualties.”

SWAT duties include:

Non-violent apprehension of desperate barricaded suspects; Protecting emergency personnel against snipers; Providing high-ground and perimeter security against snipers for visiting dignitaries; Providing controlled assault firepower in certain non-riot situations, i.e., barricaded suspects; Rescuing officers and citizens captured or endangered by gunfire; and, Neutralizing guerilla or terrorist operations.

The first significant deployment of LAPD's SWAT unit was on 9 December, 1969, in a four-hour confrontation with members of the Black Panthers. The Panthers finally surrendered, with only three Panthers and three officers being injured. By 1974, there was a general acceptance of SWAT as a resource for the city and county of Los Angeles.

On the afternoon of 17 May, 1974, elements of a group which called itself the "Symbionese Liberation Army" (SLA), a group of heavily-armed leftists, barricaded themselves in a residence on East 54th Street at Compton Avenue. Coverage of the siege was broadcast to millions via television and radio and featured in the world press for days after. Negotiations were opened with the barricaded suspects on numerous occasions, both prior to and after the introduction of tear gas. Police units did not fire until the SLA had fired several volleys of semi-automatic and fully automatic gunfire at them. In spite of the 3,772 rounds fired by the SLA, no uninvolved citizens or police officers sustained injury from gunfire.

During the gun battle, a fire erupted inside the residence. The cause of the fire is officially unknown, although police sources speculated that an errant round ignited one of the suspect's molotov cocktails. Others suspect that the repeated use of tear gas grenades, which function by burning chemicals at high temperatures, started the structure fire. All six of the suspects suffered multiple gunshot wounds and perished in the ensuing blaze.

By the time of the SLA Shoot-out, SWAT teams had reorganized into six 10-man teams, each team consisting of two five-man squads. Squads consisted of a team leader, marksman, observer, scout, and a rear-guard. The normal complement of weapons was a high-power anti-sniper rifle (apparently a .243-caliber bolt-action, judging from the ordnance expended by officers at the Shoot-out), two .223-caliber semi-automatic rifles, and two shotguns. SWAT officers also carried their service revolvers in shoulder holsters. The normal gear issued them included a first aid kit, gloves, and a gas mask.

Many people, who had seen the paramilitary uniforms and rifles in 1967, had mistakenly assumed SWAT had always been armed with fully-automatic weapons. In fact it was sea-change just to have police armed with semi-automatic rifles, at a time when officers were usually issued six-shot revolvers, and shotguns. The encounter with the heavily-armed Symbionese Liberation Army however sparked a trend towards SWAT teams being issued body armor and fully-automatic weapons of various types.

The Columbine High School Massacre was another seminal event in SWAT tactics and police response. As noted in an article in the Christian Science Monitor, dated May 31, 2000, “Instead of being taught to wait for the SWAT team to arrive, street officers are receiving the training and weaponry to take immediate action during incidents that clearly involve suspects' use of deadly force.” [3]

The article further reported that street officers were increasingly being armed with rifles, and issued heavy body armor and ballistic helmets, items traditionally associated with SWAT units. The idea is to train and equip street officers to make a rapid response to so-called active-shooter situations. In these situations, it was no longer acceptable to simply set up a perimeter and wait for SWAT.

As an example, in the policy & procedure manual of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Department, it is stated, "MPD personnel shall remain cognizant of the fact that in many active shooter incidents, innocent lives are lost within the first few minutes of the incident. In some situations, this dictates the need to rapidly assess the situation and act quickly in order to save lives." [4]

With this shift in police response, SWAT units remain in demand for their traditional roles as hostage rescue, counter-terrorist operations, and serving high-risk warrants.


Organization

The relative infrequency of SWAT call-outs means these expensively-trained and equipped officers can’t be left to sit around, waiting for an emergency. In many departments the officers are normally deployed to regular duties (such as the Manteca Police Department in California), but are available for SWAT calls via pagers, cell phones or radio transceivers. Even in the larger police agencies, such as the Los Angeles PD, SWAT personnel would normally be seen in crime suppression roles - specialized and more dangerous than regular patrol, perhaps, but the officers wouldn’t be carrying their distinctive armor and weapons.

By illustration, the LAPD’s website shows that in 2003, their SWAT units were activated 255 times, for 133 SWAT calls and 122 times to serve high-risk warrants. This would seem to average to about one call every other day, but considering the 24-hour a day availability of police work, this means a lot of time between calls.

The New York Police Department’s Emergency Service Unit is one of the few civilian police special-response units that operates on autonomously 24 hours a day. However, this unit also provides a wide range of services, including rescue and search functions normally handled by fire departments or other agencies.

The need to summon widely-dispersed personnel, then equip and brief them, makes for a long lag between the initial emergency and actual SWAT deployment on the ground. The problems of delayed police response at the Columbine High School Massacre has led to changes in police response, mainly rapid deployment of line officers to deal with an Active shooter, rather than setting up a perimeter and waiting for SWAT to arrive.

Training

SWAT officers are selected from volunteers within their Police/Sheriff/Law Enforcement organization. Depending on the department's policy, Officers generally have to serve a minimum tenure within the department before being able to apply for a specialist section such as SWAT. This tenure requirement is based on the fact that SWAT officers are still law enforcement officers and must have a thorough knowledge of department policies and procedures.

SWAT applicants undergo rigorous selection and training, similar to the training some special operations units in the military receive. Applicants must pass stringent physical agility, written, oral, and psychological testing to ensure they are not only fit enough but also psychologically suited for tactical operations.

In addition, applicants must successfully pass a stringent background investigation and job performance review. Emphasis is placed on physical fitness so an officer will be able to withstand the rigors of tactical operations. After an officer has been selected, the potential member must undertake and pass numerous specialist courses that will make him/her a fully qualified SWAT operator. Officers are trained in marksmanship for the development of accurate shooting skills, although the use of firearms is considered a last resort in law enforcement. Other training that could be given to potential members includes training in explosives, sniper-training, first-aid, negotiation, handling K9 units, abseiling (rappelling) and roping techniques and the use of specialized weapons and equipment. They are also trained specifically in the handling and use of special ammunition such as bean bags, flash bang grenades, Tasers, and the use of crowd control methods and specialist less-than-lethal munitions. Of primary importance is close quarters defensive tactics training, as this will be the primary mission upon becoming a full-fledged SWAT officer.


SWAT equipment

SWAT teams use equipment designed for a variety of specialist situations including close-quarters battle (CQB) in an urban environment. The particular pieces of equipment vary from unit to unit, but there are some consistent trends in what they wear and use.

Individual clothing and equipment usually consists of fire-resistant Nomex coveralls or flightsuits, a body armor vest, an outer tactical load bearing vest for carrying ammunition and specialist gear and equipment, Nomex or other tactical gloves, balaclava or protective face covering, protective eye goggles, Kevlar helmet and/or gas mask, flashlight (usually a Surefire or similar brand), combat boots, flexi-cuffs, and thigh ammo/utility pouches. While a wide variety of weapons are used by SWAT teams, the most common weapons include submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, shotguns, and sniper rifles. Tactical aids include flashbang, Stinger and tear gas grenades. Semi-automatic handguns are the most popular sidearms. Popular submachine guns used by SWAT teams include the 9mm Heckler & Koch MP5 and 10 mm MP5/10 (used by the FBI HRT and US Capitol Police), with or without suppressors, along with the H&K UMP. Common rifles include the HK G36C and M4 Carbine. The Colt M16A2 is rarely used because it is much longer than the more compact M4, although it still finds favour with some teams for rural and long range operations. To breach doors quickly, battering rams, shotguns, or explosive charges can be used to break the lock or hinges, or even demolish the door frame itself. SWAT teams also use many less-lethal munitions and weapons. These include Tasers, pepper spray canisters, shotguns loaded with bean bag rounds, and Pepperball guns. Pepperball guns are essentially paintball markers loaded with balls containing Oleoresin Capsicum (a.k.a OC, "pepper spray").

Well-funded SWAT units may also employ armored cars for insertion, maneuvering, or during tactical operations such as the rescue of civilians/officers pinned down by gunfire. Helicopters may be used to provide aerial reconnaissance or even insertion via rappelling or Fast-roping. To avoid detection by suspects during insertion in urban environments, SWAT units may also use modified buses, vans, trucks, or other seemingly normal vehicles.

For tactical reconnaissance purposes, a team may be equipped with binoculars, fiber optic cameras known by brandnames such as the Viper (as used by the LAPD), thermal cameras, or a variety of audio or video surveillance equipment. In nighttime or low-light operations, SWAT units may be equipped with night vision goggles. Mirrors on extension poles, for looking around corners while not putting an officer directly in the line of fire, are amongst some of the more unusual and ad-hoc device used by teams to deal with unique situations/problems.

Cultural references

This kind of police unit quickly became well known with the premiere of the short-lived but notorious television series S.W.A.T. in the 1970s, which was panned as being overly violent and unrealistic with the characters regularly undergoing missions that usually happen only once in a lifetime for actual teams. It was cancelled in the later episodes of the series, due to the violence of the program.

There is a series of computer games by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Vivendi Universal and Irrational Games under the name of SWAT, in which the player commands a SWAT team and utilizes real tactics and tools used in situations. The series started off as an interactive movie followup of the Police Quest series which was narrated by retired Chief Daryl Gates, and was continued as a real-time strategy game and two first person shooters in the vein of Rainbow Six. All but one featured endorsements by the LAPD.

During the 1990s, there was also a cartoon TV show called SWAT Kats.

In the world of 24, Jack Bauer worked for the Los Angeles SWAT team before joining CTU.

In 2003, the movie S.W.A.T. starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell was released in theaters as an update of the TV series. In the movie, an arrested drug kingpin is transported by a Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team led by Jackson's character out of the city and into federal custody. Plans go awry when the kingpin offers $100 million to anyone who can free him.

Both Power Rangers: SPD and Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, police based superhero teams, feature a SWAT mode, consisting of a set of armor and heavy weapons, as well as a laser-armed SWAT truck (only Power Rangers) and a SWAT Megazord (only named so in PRSPD; in Dekaranger it is called DekaWing Robo).

The Grand Theft Auto series feature SWAT police units to chase the player if reaches a high wanted level. They feature trucks and helicopters, as well as submachine gun armed soldiers.

The popular video game Halo 2 has a SWAT gametype featuring a more realistic rule set than the typical multiplayer game. ie no shields or energy weapons.

In the Bergeron version of Hollywood Squares, Whoopi Goldberg claims that SWAT stands for "Some Whoop-Ass Tonight".

Richard Marcinko, author of the "Rogue Warrior" fiction book series, makes reference to SWAT teams that don't train enough, as "SQUAT" teams.

In 2005, a television show debuted on A&E entitled Dallas SWAT, documenting the personal and professional lives of SWAT officers of the Dallas, Texas Police Department. The television show is now being shown on Court TV and in 2006 A&E is debuting both Kansas City and Detroit SWAT.

SWAT units in the United States

Main article: List of SWAT units in the United States

Though initially confined to metropolitan cities, today virtually every city with a police force in excess of a handful of officers has a paramilitary tactical unit. A variety of abbreviations and acronyms are used for these organizations, which operate at federal, state, and local levels. Most known examples are:

Similar units outside the United States

North America
Europe
Middle East
Asia/Pacific

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Development of SWAT". Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved 19 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Report folliwong the SLA Shoot-out (PDF)" (PDF). Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved 19 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Report folliwong the Columbine High School Massacre". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 19 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Policy & Procedure Manual". Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Department. Retrieved 19 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

  • SCG International Risk — Company provides training in SWAT / CQB tactics to US Department of Defense and LEA units.
  • SWAT Team. "Overview". Retrieved May 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • SpecWarNet. "The SWAT & Tactical Website". Retrieved May 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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