Career
His idea was presented to LAPD chief William Parker in the 1960s and he gained approval to create a special weapons and tactics group to deal with unusual and difficult situations. After the Watts riots, Sergeant Nelson personally approached LAPD chief Bill Parker with his proposal for a Special Weapons And Tactics unit
Nelson had served in a United States Marine Corps elite Force Recon unit during World World War II and based the Special Weapons And Tactics 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 Special Weapons And Tactics 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 Special Weapons And Tactics unit himself, which he did.
