John Nelson was the founding father of the SWAT special forces. His idea was presented to Inspector Darryl F. Gates in the 1960s and he gained approval to create a special weapons and tactics group to deal with unusual and difficult situations. SWAT is an acronym for Special Weapons And Tactics. ... Portrait of Darryl F. Gates. ...
OfficerJohnNelson 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.
The first challenge for LAPD'sSWAT unit was on 9 December 1969: a four-hour confrontation with members of The Black Panthers.
Since its inception, LAPDSWAT Team members have effected the safe rescue of numerous hostages, arrested scores of violent suspects and earned hundreds of commendations and citations, including several Medals of Valor, the Department's highest award for heroism in the line of duty.
He later claimed that many officers recruited in the 1980s--a period in which LAPD was subject to a consent decree which set minimum quotas for hiring of women and minorities--were substandard.
LAPD soon developed a reputation among some in South Los Angeles as an "occupying force"; an excellent example of this perception can be seen in the video for NWA's "Straight Outta Compton," which depicts a white, mustachioed LAPDofficer in mirrored sunglasses, swinging a nightstick from horseback.
LAPD began to experience severe personnel turnover in Gates' later years as officers grew weary of patrolling neighborhoods that viewed the department as "the biggest gang of them all," a major contributing factor to the administrative collapse that occurred during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
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