"To Serve and Protect"
Though there must be some honest, COMPETENT officers out there, SWAT teams suck and they are worthless. Worse than worthless, they are dangerous in many cases, as illustrated above.
The real threat SWAT poses is their ABILITY to be used as a military arm of the government against US citizens. Quick history lesson: The founding fathers originally were opposed to even a standing army even during the Revolutionary War. They knew the armies could and have been used against their own people by corrupt governments, constituting a potential threat to individual rights. When the army was formed, it was placed under harsh restrictions and was not supposed to be used against any American citizens. Unfortuneately the trend to heavily armed SWAT teams gives the government a way of oppressing citizens, much like Gestapo of Nazi Germany. NOTE: I am not saying modern SWAT teams are the Gestapo. I am saying they have the potential to be abused and used like the Gestapo, as incidents like Ruby Ridge and Waco demonstrate.
Chew on this, fellow gun owners. If (hypothetically) someone in your neighborhood that was anti-gun discovered you had a number of weapons and reported it (called the cops, "HE'S GOING TO SHOOT SOMEONE!") and the cops responded with a SWAT team you may wake up in the night with armed men in your house. How do you react? If you do not know who they are, you may pull your own gun. Then what? Cops open up, kill some family members. THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT! Just post some pics of your "arsenal" in the local paper, and the people will be willing to accept the killings as the death of nuts. IE, Waco. Even if Koresh deserved what he got, which I think is extreme, those women and children sure as hell didn't. Cops are also protected by some laws in that situation, look at the sniper from Ruby Ridge.
Food for thought.