History Main / SWATTeam

* The ''{{VideoGame/SWAT}}'' installments of the ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest'' games obviously involve this, eventually progressing from a point-and-click adventure game to a top-down tactical simulator to tactical squad-based [[{{VideoGame/SWAT 3}} first-person]] [[{{VideoGame/SWAT 4}} shooters]]. The ''SWAT'' games heavily emphasize the use of proper police procedure: cuff every enemy, collect evidence, report all injured or dead people, always announce your presence and demand surrender before firing, and ''especially'' emphasis on trying to take down suspects alive. The latest game in the series is ''SWAT 4'', made by Creator/IrrationalGames (the team behind ''VideoGame/BioShock'' and ''VideoGame/SystemShock 2'').

On the other hand, proponents argue that the heavy equipment being distributed to SWAT is more necessary now more than ever. A major catalyst for this argument was the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Mumbai_attacks 2008 Mumbai attacks,]] where Indian police were completely outmatched against the attackers and led to a SWAT team being formed after the fact. With the establishment of ISIS as well as al-Qaida shifting to a more decentralized operating structure, terrorist attacks involving multiple attackers armed with heavy weapons and armor have become increasingly commonplace, such as the attacks in Paris in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_2015_%C3%8Ele-de-France_attacks January]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2015_Paris_attacks November 2015]] followed by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_San_Bernardino_attack December 2015]] San Bernardino attack. During the Bataclan siege in Paris, RAID officers credited their military-grade equipment with saving their lives.

In recent years, the deployment of SWAT teams in real life has been increasingly called into question. Originally intended to respond to situations that, typically, would be unlikely to be encountered even once in any given officer's entire career, the vast majority of SWAT deployments are now to execute arrest and search warrants, often against non-violent offenders. Radley Balko's non-fiction book ''Rise Of The Warrior Cop'' covers a lot of the history of SWAT - noting that in the LAPD standoff with the Symbionese Liberation Army, the SWAT team asked for a Grenade Launcher and were told in no uncertain terms that they did not have permission to obtain or use one. Fastforward to the present day, and ''hundreds'' of surplus grenade launchers, fifty-calibre machine guns, and armoured vehicles have been [[http://www.vice.com/read/the-pentagon-is-giving-grenade-launchers-to-campus-police-904 given to Police forces across America]] - despite the fact that [[http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence violent crime has been declining for decades]]. Indeed, in the late 2010's "[=SWATting=]" attacks (where a hoax call is used to try and bait a SWAT team into raiding someone's house -- leading to [[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/15/tyler-barriss-swatting-death-regret a fatality shortly after the Christmas in 2017]]) have become a serious issue, especially amongst [[Website/YouTube Youtubers]], livestreamers, and other online celebrities.

* Germany has the GSG-9 (''Grenzschutzgruppe 9'' - Border Protection Group 9) a highly successful anti-terror group which was formed after the [[Film/{{Munich}} 1972 Olympic Games Massacre]], which saw [[http://youtu.be/CIicN7RXyRs?t=4m32s common riot police and beat cops advancing on the terrorists in stahlhelms and colourful tracksuits (in a botched attampt at 'disguise') with military-grade rifles they had never used before.]] In recent year, the [=SEKs=] and [=MEKs=] fulfill the SWAT role while the GSG-9 functions similarly to the Hostage Rescue Team when federal police resources are used.
* The closest analogue to a SWAT in Russia and the Former Soviet Union is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMSN SOBR]] spetsnaz (formerly known as OMSN) which is under the authority of the National Guard. Like many special purpose police units, they were formed after the Munich Olympics tragedy. Like SWAT, they are rapid response paramilitary police units specializing in high-risk criminal arrests, counter-terrorism and cordoning. Unlike most SWAT teams however, they can be called upon by the Russian authorities to serve in a war zone, with SOBR being called to serve during the war in Chechnya. Another organization is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMON OMON,]] an organization that acts as a special police unit with similar duties, and has since been also merged into [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Guard_of_Russia National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya).]]

* [[UsefulNotes/LeCopsFrancais France]] has two version:

* Anti-Skill in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' is the non-powered portion of city law enforcement, and most frequently shows up as SWAT teams. They're fairly competent, but out of their league against the more powerful Espers and sorcerers.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/{{SWAT}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/swatmovie.png]]]]

--> -- '''[[SergeantRock Sgt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson]]''', ''Film/{{SWAT}}''

* ''Film/{{SWAT}}'' is centered on a Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team. The movie starts with Street and Gamble getting thrown off one, then about a third of the way in Sgt. Hondo Harrelson comes in and handpicks a new one, including Street.

* ''VieoGame/RedAlert3'': The Allied Peacekeeper is the basic infantry unit, essentially a SWAT member with military-grade armor and a shotgun with low range but high knockback. They also get a riot shield that lets them tank ridiculous amounts of damage, but its main use is to clear out garrisoned buildings (at the cost of the unit).

* The Special Assault Team eventually gets deployed in ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}'' against the titular monsters.

* ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': The Netflix shows make use of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit on several occasions.
** ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
*** In season 1's "Condemned", an ESU squad is summoned to a hostage situation where Matt Murdock has overpowered a rookie police officer who stumbled upon him and Vladimir in an abandoned building. This ESU squad is working for Wilson Fisk and have been tasked with murdering several cops at the scene. A sniper on the team splits off from the others, goes to a nearby rooftop, and, when given the green light by James Wesley, guns down Detective Christian Blake (who has become a liability to Fisk) and two uniformed cops (to make it look random), while the rest of the team storm the building, kill the police officer that Matt overpowered, and then kill off Vladimir as he takes [[SuicideByCop one last stand]] holding them off so Matt can escape.

** ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': The police detail guarding Trish's hospital room in season 2 gets an ESU team after Jessica's mom kills Detective Costa's partner in the midst of escaping after a failed attempt to kill Trish. Some ESU accompany Costa when they catch up to Jessica at the ferris wheel right after her mom has been killed by Trish.
** ''Series/LukeCage2016''

** ''Series/IronFist2017'': Once Danny Rand has driven the Hand out of Rand Enterprises, Harold Meachum backstabs him by framing him for the Hand's activities and sends a DEA SWAT team after them. Danny and Colleen overpower the SWAT team and escape. After Danny, Colleen and Ward defeat Harold, Jeri Hogarth gets the assault charges against Danny and Colleen dropped [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney thanks to a generous contribution to the DEA Widows and Children's Fund.]]
** ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': An ESU team is summoned to Midland Circle in the climax and is responsible for evacuating Misty Knight after her right arm is cut off fighting Bakuto.
** ''Series/ThePunisher2017'':

** The GIGN (''Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale'', "National Gendarmerie Intervention Group"), is the Gendarmerie's tactical unit. Created on 1973 to deal with hostage-taking, they are active in rural areas and abroad.
** The RAID (''Recherche, Assistance, Intervention, Dissuasion '', "Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence") is the unit for the National Police and is mainly active in urban areas.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_swat-team_925.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:SWAT officers practicing their tactics.]]

In recent years, the deployment of SWAT teams in real life has been increasingly called into question. Originally intended to respond to situations that, typically, would be unlikely to be encountered even once in any given officer's entire career, the vast majority of SWAT deployments are now to execute arrest and search warrants, often against non-violent offenders. Radley Balko's non-fiction book ''Rise Of The Warrior Cop'' covers a lot of the history of SWAT - noting that in the LAPD standoff with the Symbionese Liberation Army, the SWAT team asked for a Grenade Launcher and were told in no uncertain terms that they did not have permission to obtain or use one. Fastforward to the present day, and ''hundreds'' of surplus grenade launchers, fifty-calibre machine guns, and armoured vehicles have been [[http://www.vice.com/read/the-pentagon-is-giving-grenade-launchers-to-campus-police-904 given to Police forces across America]] - despite the fact that [[http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence violent crime has been declining for decades]]. Indeed, in the late 2010's "[=SWATting=]" attacks (where a hoax call is used to try and bait a SWAT team into raiding someone's house -- leading to [[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/15/tyler-barriss-swatting-death-regret a fatality shortly after the Christmas in 2017]]) have become a serious issue. Especially amongst Youtubers, livestreamers, and other online celebrities.

On the other hand, proponents argue that the heavy equipment being distributed to SWAT is more necessary now more than ever. A major catalyst for this argument was the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Mumbai_attacks 2008 Mumbai attacks]], where Indian police were completely outmatched against the attackers and led to a SWAT team being formed after the fact. With the establishment of ISIS as well as al-Qaida shifting to a more decentralized operating structure, terrorist attacks involving multiple attackers armed with heavy weapons and armor have become increasingly commonplace, such as the attacks in Paris in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_2015_%C3%8Ele-de-France_attacks January]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2015_Paris_attacks November 2015]] followed by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_San_Bernardino_attack December 2015]] San Bernardino attack. During the Bataclan siege in Paris, RAID officers credited their military-grade equipment with saving their lives.

* Germany has the GSG-9 (''Grenzschutzgruppe 9'' - Border Protection Group 9) a highly successful anti-terror group which was formed after the [[Film/{{Munich}} 1972 Olympic Games Massacre]], which saw [[http://youtu.be/CIicN7RXyRs?t=4m32s common riot police and beat cops advancing on the terrorists in stahlhelms and colourful tracksuits (in a botched attampt at 'disguise') with military-grade rifles they had never used before]]. In recent year, the [=SEKs=] and [=MEKs=] fulfill the SWAT role while the GSG-9 functions similarly to the Hostage Rescue Team when federal police resources are used.
* The closest analogue to a SWAT in Russia and the Former Soviet Union is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMSN SOBR]] spetsnaz (formerly known as OMSN) which is under the authority of the National Guard. Like many special purpose police units, they were formed after the Munich Olympics tragedy. Like SWAT, they are rapid response paramilitary police units specializing in high-risk criminal arrests, counter-terrorism and cordoning. Unlike most SWAT teams however, they can be called upon by the Russian authorities to serve in a war zone, with SOBR being called to serve during the war in Chechnya. Another organization is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMON OMON]], an organization that acts as a special police unit with similar duties, and has since been also merged into [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Guard_of_Russia National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya)]].

* The Singaporean equivalent is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Tactics_and_Rescue_(Singapore) STAR (Special Tactics and Rescue)]], under the command of the Singapore Police Force's Special Operations Command. They mainly deal with counter-terrorism and crimes involving firearms.

* In ''Film/Mosul2020'', the Nineveh Province SWAT team has spent a better part of the ISIS occupation of Iraq resisting the forces of ''Daesh'' with unparalleled brutality and commitment. By the events of the film, ''Daesh'' considers their ilk to be labelled "unforgivable" and will not take any SWAT member prisoner. The SWAT returns that sentiment to ''Daesh'' [[KillEmAll tenfold]].

* SWAT serves as an enemy throughout the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games, generally as an antagonist in different missions, and as one of the grades of police response called in as more crimes are committed. By '[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV GTA IV]]'', the SWAT team is replaced by a Homeland Security {{expy}} known as NOOSE, the [[FunWithAcronyms National Office Of Security Enforcement]].

* SWAT serves as an enemy throughout the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games, generally as an antagonist in different missions, and as one of the grades of police response called in as more crimes are committed. By ''4'', the SWAT team is replaced by a Homeland Security {{expy}} known as NOOSE.

* Raccoon City's SWAT team appear in the intro cutscene in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' to showcase how powerful and dangerous the zombies have become by having the entire team slaughtered by them. The SWAT officers use submachine guns and shotguns while the regular police officers use pistols, but even the extra firepower were no match against the zombie horde.

* A Detroit SWAT unit appears early on in ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'', containing the hostage situation at the Sarif factory. They eventually go in after Adam Jensen enters the facility and recovers the top secret prototype he's after. Jensen himself is also ex-SWAT.

* ''Literature/LastManStanding'': This Creator/DavidBaldacci novel is about FBIAgent Web London, the SoleSurvivor of an FBI HRT raid that spectacularly failed with the entire team except Web being taken out by an AutoTurret. Web spends the novel dealing with the trauma, the guilt and eventually investigating the circumstances behind the failed raid.

* The titular WebVideo/AnimeCrimesDivision maintains its own SWAT team, who are deployed multiple times in later episodes to deal with a Serial Killer and for a raid on the Neo-Otaku City version of a Red Light District.

* The Spanish TV show ''Series/MoneyHeist'' prominently features the actual real life Spain equivalent to the SWAT: The GEO, or "Grupo Especial de Operaciones" ("Operations Special Group"). They have a very active role in both story lines.

** And then by ''Solid State Society'', Section Nine has grown large enough that it has its own dedicated SWAT Team.

** The Japan Coast Guard has the Special Security Team, its own anti-crime/terrorist unit that operate in Japanese territorial waters.* The Singaporean equivalent is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Tactics_and_Rescue_(Singapore) STAR (Special Tactics and Rescue)]], under the command of the Singapore Police Force's Special Operations Command. They mainly deal with counter-terrorism and crimes involving firearms.