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He may not have invented SWAT. Yet Gates was intricately involved in its creation, and like all great leaders in organizations who are presented with a great idea, he provided the push needed to get it implemented.
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This week's announcement that General Motors is bringing back the Chevy Caprice patrol car, an officer favorite it stopped producing in 1996, put the editors of POLICE Magazine in the mood to remember the Chevy patrol cars of years past. Chevy has a strong legacy in the patrol car market, and the reintroduction of the Caprice patrol car has excited officers who remember the hot pursuer of the 1990s. We'll start off with the 1954 Chevy Bel Air, a patrol car that was affordable and powerful.
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Riding his Indian twin, Willis Seaman entered history when, in 1908, he became the first motorcycle cop to write a speeding citation.
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The first female police officer in the country with arrest powers, Alice Stebbins Wells, arrived in 1910 with the Los Angeles Police Department. By 1937, the department employed 39 policewomen. Women are serving in most areas of the department; they have yet to crack the elite SWAT unit, but a 2008 report led to 12 women being accepted into the training program that feeds the unit. These photos, which show several of the pioneering police women of the department, have been provided by the Los Angeles Police Historical Society.
Read More →Every day, police throughout America respond to dangerous situations that often turn into armed, deadly confrontations. When circumstances and time allow, police hold things down until SWAT arrives and takes over. At least that's the plan, but we all know about plans.
Read More →Compared to military history's thousands of years, law enforcement's 200 years and SWAT's 40 years are a mere blink of the eye in time. Perhaps this accounts for the stark contrast between how the military and police view their respective histories.
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Some lesser-known outfits that helped keep the peace in the old days were short-lived or eventually evolved into state police or highway patrol units. Few of these groups have survived into the 21st century, but two carry on as volunteers assisting full-time law enforcement, much as they did long ago.
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There is something almost mystical about a lawman's guns. Distinctly personal, unlike pens or uniform shoes, a lawman's guns are often as much a partner to them as their flesh-and-blood buddy in the saddle next to them.
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In the past, it may have held only a holster, gun and some bullets, but today's hard-working belts must carry an average of 8 to 10 and sometimes up to 15 pounds of equipment, ranging from flashlights, keys and handcuffs to OC spray, batons and duty weapons. In short, duty belts must be strong and have a stiff enough edge to support all the poundage.
Read More →It wasn't the tower sniper incident alone, however, that finally convinced America's police departments that SWAT teams were needed. Other events occuring across the country also had their breath.
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