Man, SWAT teams are badass.
Yeah, movies and TV sure make 'em seem cool.
They're always busting drug lords
Hell yeah!
But in reality,
they're hardly ever used that way.
Most SWAT deployments are far more aggressive
than the situation calls for.
And that's not good
for the public or the police.
SWAT teams were introduced in the 1960s
to deal with extreme crises
like hostage situations and prison escapes.
It's a hostage situation slash prison escape!
Thank God we're here.
But today, these types of situations
only account for 7% of SWAT deployments.
Instead, they spend most of their time
executing warrants for routine drug searches.
Freeze! We've got a warrant!
We are looking for literally any amount of pot.
Uh, okay, but have you heard of knocking?
♪♪
Well, isn't it better than plain-clothes cops
don't have to face off with drug lords unarmed?
Oh, it's not like they're taking down
deadly drug cartels.
Around two-thirds of SWAT raids
don't even uncover a weapon at the scene.
We're not finding any weapons, Sarge.
Ah, that's typical. But keep your guns in
these people's faces just in case.
And four out of ten SWAT raids
turn up no contraband whatsoever.
(chuckling)
Drugs in the freezer.
Baking soda!
(family gasping)
No wonder this place smells so fresh.
Okay, so maybe not every SWAT raid finds something.
But I'm sure the warrants are justified.
It's not like they're just busting down
anyone's door without cause.
Actually, it is so easy
to get a SWAT team to raid a house,
it's even become a fad to call SWAT teams
on innocent people as a sick, twisted prank.
It's called "SWAT-ing",
and it happens over 400 times a year.
Our tipster said this was a hideout
for the notorious terrorist Seymour Butts.
Keep searchin', team.
That's not funny. People could get hurt.
And they do.
People have died from SWAT-ing.
And maybe that's because
when the SWAT team gets a call,
they storm in,
often in the middle of the night,
smashing doors and windows.
Sometimes shooting or throwing grenades,
and putting innocent bystanders at risk.
(teddy bear squeaking)
(Dominic) Oh my God, stop!
Sometimes they don't even get the right apartment.
In 2003, New York City's chief of police estimated
that 10% of no-knock SWAT raids
go to the wrong address.
Oh, crap. This is apartment 3.
We're supposed to be in apartment 3A.
Sorry, folks.
(picture crashing)
What the hell, dude?
If SWAT teams do this much damage
and we don't even need them that often,
why do we use them so much?
Because for the past 30 years,
there's been a deliberate effort
to increasingly militarize our police forces.
Since the 1980s,
the US government has encouraged
police departments across the country
to behave more like military units
than local PD.
It started with the War on Drugs
when they began giving out extra cash to police precincts
that agreed to crack down on drug crimes.
I want you to help wage
a discriminatory, ineffective drug war.
There's free money in it.
(cash register dings)
And in the '90s, they started handing out
more than just cash.
They also gave away used military equipment.
Say "hello" to my little friends.
(Adam) At the height of these programs post-9/11,
police precincts were receiving billions of dollars worth
of military-grade equipment, including grenade launchers,
helicopters, and mine-resistant vehicles.
Mine-resistant vehicles?
Since when are cops getting blown up
Yeah, they're not.
But that hasn't stopped the government
from dishing 'em out to precincts like candy.
Today, 90% of American towns
with populations of 50,000 or more
have fully militarized SWAT teams.
And to justify their existence,
we're using SWAT more than ever.
We got all this money and equipment to go after drugs,
so use it or lose it, right?
(Adam) Before the 1980s,
there were only 3,000 SWAT deployments a year.
But by 2014, some estimates say
there were as many as 80,000.
And it's way more than just SWAT teams.