Two things you might look at:
Susie Bernstein, et. al., _The Iron Fist and the
Velvet Glove: An Analysis of the U.S. Police_, The Center
for Research on Criminal Justice, 1975, 2nd. ed.1977,
chapter 9, "SWAT"
http://www.socialjusticejournal.org/Books.html
Dates the founding of SWAT to 1967, in response to the 1960's
disorders.
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You might also look at the idea of the motorcycle cop.
There is an interesting scene in John Ford's film _They Were
Expendable_ (1945)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038160/
Going by memory, it runs approximately as follows:
Scene in field hospital ward. Donna Reed (playing an Army nurse)
says something salty to John Wayne (playing a patient, a Navy
officer, Lieutenant, Junior Grade)
John Wayne: "What is your rank?!"
Donna Reed (sullenly): "Second Lieutenant."
John Wayne: "Well, I'm a Jaygee (*), so watch your language!"
(*) ie. he outranks her.
Donna Reed (with gentle feminine sarcasm): "Oh... [picks up his
uniform cap, and looks at it closely]... I thought you were a
motorcycle cop... [furiously] despite your gold braid, you don't
tell us-- we tell you!!!"
It might be worth looking into precisely what the term
"motorcycle cop" meant, and why it could be, in the
right circumstances, a subtle insult.
(08/25/2008 05:49 PM) For a background on the
Los Angeles police, the originators of SWAT, see:
Joe A Domanick, _To Protect and Serve: The L. A. P. D.'s
Century of War in the City of Dreams. _
http://www.bookfinder.com/author/joe-domanick/
The police department's history is integrated
with the larger history of Los Angeles to provide a background for
the Rodney King beating and the O. J. Simpson Trial.
There is also Joseph Wambaugh. I don't know if he is to be
considered reliable about facts, and there was that weird case in
Pennsylvania where he messed up a murder prosecution by
doing something very close to witness tampering, apparently in
order to be able to write a best-selling book about the
case. However, he is about the best available source
on what one might call the collective mind of the Los
Angeles Police.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Wambaugh