Special Weapons and Tactics Teams

In the late 1960s, local law enforcement across the nation experienced situations they had never encountered before. There were incidents of massive civil unrest and riots associated with the civil rights movement. There were large-scale disturbances and mass demonstrations against the Vietnam War. There were also incidents involving snipers that killed both civilians and officers alike. Most of these incidents occurred in large urban environments. The [Page 440]traditional police officers working in patrol assignments were neither trained nor equipped to respond to such incidents.

Swat Team members, armed with advanced weaponry, search for a possible sniper near an elementary school in Maryland, the site of several shootings by the “Beltway Snipers.” One response to violent crime is the development of weapons that can deal more effectively ...