Police tactical teams only began in earnest in North America in the mid-1960s, initially to deal with a rash of bank robberies (in Philadelphia) and labour unrest (in Toronto). WATCH: Tactical trainer takes a SWAT team through use of real flashbang grenades:Kevin Cyr, head of the B.C. Lower Mainland RCMP tactical squad, said SWAT teams use that equipment to mitigate risks, which "creates the time and distance necessary" to de-escalate an incident. Tactical teams also tend to have more use-of-force options available, he said, specifically less-lethal ones like teargas, rubber bullets or beanbag rounds. "People whose homes are entered in this way, they don't recover from it," defence lawyer Mark Ertel said.

Source: CBC News March 13, 2021 09:00 UTC