Originating in the Los Angeles Police Department, SWAT units were modeled after elite military units used in Vietnam. By 1982, roughly 60% of U.S. police departments had SWAT teams.

Police in riot gear in downtown Los Angeles during anti-ICE protests. Toby Canham for NY Post A protester getting arrested by the California Highway Patrol in downtown LA on June 10, 2025. AP ...

Originating in the Los Angeles Police Department, SWAT units were modeled after elite military units used in Vietnam. By 1982, roughly 60% of U.S. police departments had SWAT teams.

By 1982, roughly 60% of U.S. police departments had SWAT teams. Just a decade later, nearly 90% did, with an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 SWAT deployments annually.

Originating in the Los Angeles Police Department, SWAT units were modeled after elite military units used in Vietnam. By 1982, roughly 60% of U.S. police departments had SWAT teams.

Life imitated art this week as Pussy Riot creator Nadya Tolokonnikova’s 10-day performance art project, “Police State,” was interrupted by military activity unfolding in downtown Los Angeles.