LAPD Metropolitan Division

A, B, C, and G Platoon officers deployed to handle the 2006 May Day protests

B and C Platoons are primarily responsible for carrying out crime suppression missions. Their most active function is maintaining selective enforcement details in high-frequency crime areas and targeting repeat offenders and criminal predators. Particular efforts are directed at the suppression of burglary, robbery, auto theft, and burglary/theft from motor vehicles. More recently, efforts have been aimed at attacking violent repressible crime.

D Platoon officers during a training exercise in 2015

D Platoon is the LAPD's police tactical unit. It provides the LAPD with 24-hour coverage necessary for immediate response to barricaded suspects, snipers, crisis and hostage negotiations, potential suicide-related situations, and other high-risk incidents. SWAT currently operates the Lenco B.E.A.R., BearCat, and MedCat armored rescue vehicles.[12][13][14] The current Officer-in-Charge is Lieutenant II Ruben Lopez.[15][16][17] The current Assistant Officer-in-Charge is Lieutenant II Lee McMillion.[18][19]

Between 1972 and 2005, SWAT had 3371 activations of those 3196 were tactical incidents with 174 involving hostages and 31 resulted in suspects being killed by SWAT.[20]

E Platoon officers patrolling in South Park

E Platoon serves as both the LAPD's mounted police unit and the reserve unit of the Special Operations Bureau.

K-9 Platoon, or the Canine Platoon, deploys highly trained dog handlers and their police dogs. Two K-9 officers have also been trained in search and rescue operations using dogs. The department first introduced dogs in April 1980 when it commenced a one year pilot program with two dogs which was after two months declared a success.[21]

The K-9 Platoon is supervised by a Lieutenant II Officer-in-Charge. One of the six Sergeant IIs serves as the Assistant Officer-in-Charge. The remaining five Sergeant IIs are Field Supervisors of the platoon.[22] The platoon has three Police Officer III+1 Assistant Trainers and 15 Police Officer III Canine Handlers, all of whom are assigned a dog.[23] Four of those officers are also assigned a second dog that can detect firearms and ammunition.[21]

The K-9 program trains dogs to "find and bark" when searching for suspects. Whereas other law enforcement agencies train their dogs to "find and bite". LAPD dogs are trained to only use a "bite hold" in response to threatening or evasive actions made by a suspect. In 2021, there were 315 K-9 deployments with 305 finds. Of those 305 finds, 69 resulted in a person being bitten or injured by a dog which is termed as a contact, and 4 resulted in a dog bite or injury that required a person to be hospitalized which is termed as a categorical use of force incident.[24]

In 1990, the Liberty Award was created for police dogs who are killed or seriously injured in the line of duty. The medal, which is named after Liberty, a Metropolitan Division K-9 who was shot and killed in the line of duty, has only been awarded once in its history. Liberty's handler, John Hall, received the Medal of Valor for the same incident.

On December 6, 1969, two patrol officers claimed to have seen Panther members, Paul Redd, "Duck" Smith and Geronimo Pratt, in possession of illegal firearms. Search warrants for illegal weapons were filed with the L.A. County Court Office were issued and served two hours before sunrise on December 9, 1969. The LAPD planned a massive three-location raid involving more than 350 officers. It was decided that the previously untested SWAT unit, led by Daryl Gates and Sergeant Patrick McKinley would take the lead of the raid into the Black Panther Headquarters at 41st and Central. The Black Panthers engaged the SWAT team in a four-hour gun battle, exchanging over 5,000 rounds of ammunition until the Panthers surrendered. During the shootout, Daryl Gates called the Department of Defense, requesting and receiving permission to use a grenade launcher; however, it was never actually used. The fighting resulted in the wounding of four Panthers and four officers. All six arrested Panthers were acquitted of the most serious charges brought against them, including conspiracy to murder police officers, because it was ruled that they acted in self-defense.[26]

On the afternoon of May 17, 1974, the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) barricaded themselves in a residence on East 54th Street at Compton Avenue. In response, more than 400 LAPD officers, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) deputies, California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers, and Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) firefighters surrounded the residence. Coverage of the siege was broadcast to millions via television and radio and featured in the world press for days after. Negotiations were opened with the barricaded suspects on numerous occasions, both prior to and after the introduction of tear gas, and police did not fire until the SLA had fired several volleys of semi-automatic and fully automatic gunfire at them. Despite the 3,772 rounds fired by the SLA, no police, civilian, or emergency services casualties were reported.[27]

During the shootout, a fire erupted inside the residence. The cause of the fire is officially unknown; police speculated that an errant round ignited one of the suspects' Molotov cocktails, while other sources blame police tear gas grenades started the structure fire.[27] All six of the suspects suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died in the ensuing blaze.[27]

By the time of the SLA shootout, SWAT teams had reorganized into six 10-man teams, each team consisting of two five-man units, called elements.[25] An element consisted of an element leader, two assaulters, a scout, and a rear-guard. The normal complement of weapons was a sniper rifle (apparently a .243-caliber bolt-action, judging from the ordnance expended by officers at the shootout), two .223-caliber semi-automatic rifles, and two shotguns. SWAT officers also carried their service revolvers in shoulder holsters. The normal gear issued them included a first aid kit, gloves, and a gas mask. It was a major change at the time to have police armed with semi-automatic rifles, at a time when officers were usually issued six-shot revolvers and shotguns. The encounter with the SLA sparked a trend towards SWAT teams being issued body armor and fully automatic weapons of various types.

The North Hollywood shootout was an armed confrontation between two heavily armed and armored bank robbers, Larry Eugene Phillips, Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, and both SWAT and patrol officers in North Hollywood on February 28, 1997. It began when responding North Hollywood Division patrol officers engaged Phillips and Mătăsăreanu leaving a bank which the two men had just robbed. Eleven officers and seven civilians sustained injuries before LAPD SWAT arrived and both robbers were killed.[28] Phillips and Mătăsăreanu had robbed several banks prior to their attempt in North Hollywood and were notorious for their heavy armament, which included automatic rifles. LAPD patrol officers were typically armed with low-caliber handguns or revolvers, with shotguns available in their cars (only SWAT officers were regularly equipped with rifles). Phillips and Mătăsăreanu carried fully automatic rifles, with ammunition capable of penetrating regular police body armor, and wore full body armor that police handguns could not penetrate. The officers at the scene had a significant disadvantage until LAPD SWAT arrived with equivalent firepower and body armor; they also appropriated several semi-automatic rifles from a nearby firearms dealer to help even the odds, though by the time this began to happen, SWAT had already arrived.[28] The incident sparked debate on the appropriate firepower for patrol officers to have available in similar situations in the future.[29]

Randal David Simmons
Born	(1956-07-22)July 22, 1956 Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Died	February 7, 2008(2008-02-07) (aged 51) Winnetka, California, U.S.
Other names	Randy
Police career
Country	United States
Department	Los Angeles Police Department
Service years	1981 – 2008
Rank	Sworn in as an officer – 1981 – Police Officer III – Senior Lead Officer ‡
Badge no.	22885

Randal "Randy" David Simmons (July 22, 1956 – February 7, 2008) was the first member of the LAPD SWAT to be killed in the line of duty in its 40-year history (although an officer died in a training accident in 1998).[30] He was shot and killed in Winnetka during a standoff with a barricaded suspect. He was among five deaths in the incident, including three civilians and the suspect. SWAT Officer James Veenstra was also seriously injured in the same incident. The suspect, who was killed by a police sniper, was identified as 20-year-old Edwin Rivera. The three civilian victims were identified as 54-year-old Gerardo Rivera, 21-year-old Edgar Rivera and 25-year-old Endi Rivera, members of Edwin's family.

Simmon's funeral, which was attended by nearly 25,000 mourners including law enforcement personnel from around the world, was the largest police funeral in American history.[31] Simmons, who was a 27-year LAPD veteran, had been with SWAT for more than 20 years.[32]

To honor his legacy, the Metropolitan Division Randal Simmons Explorer Post 114 was named and dedicated after his death to continue his youth outreach work. Officer Simmons was also mentioned as a source of inspiration behind character Officer Jones' reason for joining the LAPD in the television series Southland, in the episode "Underwater".