John Nelson (police officer), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJohn Nelson (police officer)
police officer, born 1928
Date of Birth: 14-May-1928
Place of Birth: Iowa, United States
Date of Death: 28-Feb-2003
Profession: police officer
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Taurus 
About John Nelson (police officer)
- John G.
- Nelson (14 May 1928 – 28 February 2003) was an American police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department who is considered to be the founding father of the SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) concept.
- After the Watts riots of 1965, Sergeant Nelson personally approached LAPD chief William Parker with his proposal for a SWAT unit.
- Nelson had served in the United States Marine Corps and based the SWAT concept on the Recon units, believing that a small squad of highly trained police officers armed with special weapons would be more effective in a riotous situation than a massive police response. Chief Parker liked the proposal and presented it to his command staff.
- He asked for a volunteer to form the SWAT unit.
- Fearing a political backlash, no one on his command staff was willing to volunteer, including Daryl Gates.
- Parker then told Nelson to go ahead and form the SWAT unit himself, which he did.
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