Special Weapons and Tactics

 (SWAT) are tactical units of many law-enforcement agencies featured in the Grand Theft Auto series. They first appeared in Grand Theft Auto 2, and they appeared in every 3D Universe game.

Description
The SWAT is the second level of law enforcement that pursues the player. They appear once the player has reached a three-star wanted level.

SWAT officers in Grand Theft Auto III wear a Gen X helmet with black sunglasses and a blue uniform. Their vests are blue and the helmets have "POLICE" printed on the front.

SWAT officers in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City wear a navy blue uniform with a tactical vest and kneepads. They also have a blue helmet and a mask covering their face.

SWAT officers in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas have a dark blue uniform and wear a helmet with goggles, a mask, kneepads, and a tactical vest with "POLICE" decals on the front and back. They also have a holster containing a Glock pistol, though the Glock is never used in the game and is only seen in cutscenes.

SWAT officers in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories are similar to Grand Theft Auto III officers but now have a navy blue uniform, kneepads, black tactical vest, and "SWAT" is only printed on the vest.

SWAT officers in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories have a helmet, black sunglasses, kneepads, navy blue pants, and only a t-shirt under the tactical vest. SWAT officers can appear either as a Caucasian or African-American and the shirt color will be either black or white.

Behavior
Once the player has gained a three-star wanted level, they will rappel down from the police helicopters, and at a four-star level they will chase the player in an Enforcer. They will also deploy spike strips to slow the player down. They will be deployed out of the helicopters by means of grappling, with four at a time. SWAT teams always seem to aim for the player's tires and blow them out, making it more difficult to escape.

However, the dialogue in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas suggests that the SWAT Officers are quite unprofessional. This is reinforced when the officers make quotes such as "Ouch, rope burning my hands", when they are rappeling from a helicopter.

Trivia

 * In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, there are some missions where SWAT team members use MP5s instead of Micro SMGs. However, the actual SWAT members that pursue players when they have wanted levels use Micro SMGs, and the MP5 is saved for the FBI.
 * In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, there is a very rare chance that a SWAT Officer uses a Pistol instead of the Micro SMG at a 4-star wanted level.
 * Despite wearing helmets, SWAT Officers will die instantly if the player shoots them in the head.
 * Despite being an elite unit, SWAT Officers in GTA: San Andreas hold their Micro SMGs sideways when firing, similarly to gang members.
 * The S.W.A.T. tank is only used by the SWAT once.
 * Coincidently, the vehicle's HD universe equivalent is only used by the HD universe SWAT counterpart once too.

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