The first major use in the U.S. of a specialized SWAT team was in a four-hour standoff between the Black Panthers and a 40-member Los Angeles SWAT team in 1969, after the group resisted search warrants for illegal weapons.
The concept of a “Special Weapons and Tactics” unit within a police force predates the Black Panthers, which was founded in 1966. Philadelphia created a SWAT team in 1964 to deal with bank robberies, and Los Angeles formed a team to respond to the Watts Riots in 1965. SWAT teams are now common in police departments even in smaller cities.