Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams are special law enforcement units in the United States that use military-grade weaponry to combat terrorism and to handle high-risk scenarios. The LAPD created the first SWAT teams in response to the Watts riots, and the SWAT has since been used for riot control, violent confrontations with criminals, drug busts, and counter-terrorism operations on US soil. SWAT teams are equipped with advanced weaponry, including night vision devices, submachine guns, assault rifles, breaching shotguns, sniper rifles, grenades, ballistic shields, body armor, armored vehicles, and motion detectors. By 2005, SWAT teams were deployed 50,000 times a year.
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A SWAT team in Yorkville, New York City, 2008