On This Day in History: December 8

LAPD SWAT attacks the Black Panthers

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One way to describe the 1960s in the U.S. was “tumultuous.” Prominent figures were assassinated. Vietnam literally exploded. Nixon got elected. And when Los Angeles Black Panthers took up arms to protect their communities from police violence, the police went military.

--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: December 8, 1969--

SWAT stands for “Special Weapons and Tactics.” It was created in the 1960s for riot control and extremely violent confrontations or hostage situations. FYI, the original acronym was “Attack Team” instead of “and Tactics,” but someone decided that was too … obvious.

The first significant deployment of a SWAT team in the U.S. was on December 8, 1969 against members of the Los Angeles Black Panther Party, a political party that, in addition to offering social programs, practiced open carrying firearms for the purpose of “copwatching” to confront rampant police brutality against Black communities. White people didn’t like Black people walking around displaying guns. They didn’t like it one bit. FBI Director J. Edgar Fuckface referred to the Black Panthers as “the most dangerous threat to the internal security of the country.” Continues below …

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And so LAPD SWAT attacked the Black Panthers’ headquarters with overwhelming firepower to execute arrest warrants—warrants that were obtained under false pretenses, and this wasn’t what SWAT was created for in the first place—and the Black Panthers defended themselves. Again, SWAT attacked. This wasn’t just a “come out with your hands up.” This was 350 cops with military-grade weaponry including a motherfucking grenade launcher raiding a place holding 13 Black Panthers. Of the 13 members, three of them were women and five were teenagers.

With the cops seeming determined to kill all those inside, the Black Panthers fought back. SWAT detonated explosives on the roof of the building and even brought in a fucking tank. Overall, about 5,000 rounds of ammunition were fired during the four-hour standoff. Miraculously, no one was killed. Six Panthers were wounded as were four SWAT team members. Then the Panthers surrendered.

Everyone inside was arrested and 72 charges were filed, but the defendants were found not guilty on almost all charges, because it was ruled they were defending themselves against cops who burst in guns-a-blazing. Despite it being a total fucking fiasco, other U.S. cities said hey we want militarized police forces too, and we’re gonna mostly use them to execute arrest warrants in minority communities because that’s just the kind of people we are.

Since the 1969 raid even small towns have decided they need military-grade weaponry for their police forces. And the problem with having that stuff and being trained in how to use it is that it creates a situation where they want to use it. They want a chance to try out their fancy kaboom and shooty toys. And so they do, mostly against Black people.

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