Metropolitan Division

Metropolitan Division
Logo of the Metropolitan Division
Metro Division patch
Abbreviation	Metro
Motto	Can do, will do!
Organizational structure
Part of	Los Angeles Police Department Office of Operations Special Operations Bureau
Headquarters	Metropolitan Division Facility, 2710 West Temple, Los Angeles
Command staff
Commanding Officer	Captain III
Assistant Commanding Officer	Captain II

The Metropolitan Division (Metro) of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) provides support to the department’s community-based policing efforts by deploying additional crime suppression resources throughout the city. These assignments include uniformed crime suppression details, as well as responding to high-risk barricaded situations, stakeouts, security details, warrant service, and assisting investigators in solving major crimes.

Organizational components

A, B, C, and G Platoons: Tactical Response Teams

The A, B, C, and G platoons are the citywide Tactical Response Teams (TRT) and are each aligned to one of the four geographical operations bureaus (Central, South, Valley, West). Each platoon is composed of a Community Liaison Officer, a training cadre, a Crime Impact Team, and Tactical Support Team. The platoons are usually tasked with crime suppression as well as selective enforcement details in high-frequency crime areas and targeting repeat offenders and criminal predators. In addition, they provide security at high profile events such as the Academy Awards, Emmy and Grammy awards, and championship sporting events.

An auxiliary duty of the TRT's is to provide firearms training department personnel. They also perform Rapid Extraction and Dismantling (RED) where teams extricate suspects participating in unlawful civil disobedience, respond to crowd control events, mass arrest events, and support SWAT as tactically necessary.

D Platoon: SWAT

SWAT team patch

The D Platoon is the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the LAPD. They provide the department with 24-hour coverage necessary for immediate response to barricaded suspects, snipers, crisis and hostage negotiations, potential suicide-related situations, and other high-risk incidents.

All SWAT team members receive extensive training in weapons and tactical proficiency. SWAT will serve high-risk warrants, assist or handle dignitary protection details, conduct a variety of crime suppression missions throughout the city and provide training on various tactical disciplines for department personnel and outside agencies, such as crisis negotiation training, counter-terrorism, and building searches.

SWAT is comprised of 60 officers, 6 sergeants, and 1 Lieutenant.

• The Lieutenant is the Officer-in-Charge of the D Platoon and is designated the SWAT commander, responsible to the Chief of Police for the unit's activities
• The 6 Sergeants report to the Lieutenant
• Each Sergeant has one 10 man squad under their jurisdiction, each squad is comprised of two 5 man elements
• Each element has one senior officer, an element leader (generally a Police Officer III+1), who assists the Sergeant in team management, and who directs the deployment of the element in tactical situations

E Platoon: Mounted Unit

The E Platoon serves as the LAPD's mounted police unit. The platoon currently has 28 horses which deploy to the city streets or during special events to add to the department’s professional image. The Mounted Platoon also performs crime suppression duties and responds to crowd control incidents.

H Platoon: Executive Protection

The H Platoon is responsible for providing security for city leaders, including the Mayor and Chief of Police, along with other dignitaries as needed. Metropolitan Division officers assigned to this detail have received extensive training in dignitary protection and maintain ongoing liaisons with various local federal agencies. Metro officers assigned to this platoon are usually tenured with years of protection detail experience under their belts.

Canine (K-9) Platoon

K-9 Platoon patch

The K-9 Platoon deploys highly trained handlers and their canine partners to assist any department entity with searches for suspects and crucial evidence recovery. K9 personnel are deployed around-the-clock, seven days a week.

Note: the Narcotics Division is responsible for managing the LAPD's narcotics detection K9s as well as bloodhounds. The Bomb Detection K-9 Section is responsible for managing the LAPD's bomb detection K9s.

M Platoon: Command, Administration, and Support

The M platoon serves as the command and administrative section and also provides support functions for the division.

• The Metro Operations Section (MOS) provides administrative support for the Division.

• The Metro Crime Analysis Detail (MetroCAD) serves as the Crime and Community Intelligence Center and liaisons with the department's Community Safety Operations Centers (CSOC), the Geographical Areas, and Command Staff to coordinate the city-wide deployment of Metro resources. MetroCAD personnel track the daily deployment of all Platoons and monitor the redeployment of resources, as needed.

• The Training Coordination Unit (TCU) ensures compliance with state-mandated (POST) training within Metro, oversees in-service training, and coordinates significant department-wide training such as Mobile Field Force, MACTAC, and firearms training.

• The Armory fills the logistical needs of the Division and houses all the weaponry systems specialized vehicles utilized by Metro. Metropolitan Division armory is responsible for the purchasing, servicing, assignment, and tracking of all equipment assigned to the Division. Personnel assigned to the Armory receive extensive weapons training and are also responsible for testing evaluation of weapons systems and tactical equipment used by Metro personnel.

Underwater Dive Unit

The Underwater Dive Unit (UDU) is responsible for investigations of underwater crime scenes in the city, narcotic vessel hull searches, reservoir and dam searches and inspections, vehicle search and recovery operations, offshore oil rig searches and investigations and missions involving Homeland Security in the Port of Los Angeles.

The Underwater Dive Unit is permanently staffed by a Sergeant and a select number of sworn personnel assigned to Metro. The balance of the cadre is comprised of officers assigned throughout the department on an on-call basis.

Personnel

The Metropolitan Division is headed by a Captain III, with a Captain II serving as the Assistant Commanding Officer. All subordinate platoons are supervised by a Lieutenant II as the Officer-in-Charge.

The personnel selected for assignment to Metropolitan Division must have established a high proficiency rating within the department, as well as have a minimum of four years of service. Applicants must be in outstanding physical condition and pass the Metro physical fitness qualification (PFQ) test, which consists of a long distance run for time, sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups. All applicants are interviewed and, if selected to continue, candidates are placed on an eligibility list. Applicants must also have a current department shooting bonus.

Due to the highly specialized nature of Metropolitan Division's mandates and functions, personnel assigned to Metropolitan Division receive intensive training in numerous police functions. Considerable time is devoted to crowd management and advanced tactical weapons training. Specialized training is also provided for shotgun slug usage, less lethal devices, shoulder weapons, officer/citizen rescue, building searches, airborne deployment, crisis negotiation, and domestic violence.

	Detective Steve Hayward is a hostage negotiator at the D Platoon on The Closer, Season 6. Det. Hayward has only been seen in “Jump the Gun”. He was portrayed by Tom Verica (at IMDb).
	Lieutenant II Sean Dorsey is the Officer-in-Charge of the D Platoon on Major Crimes, Season 2. Lt. Dorsey has only been seen in “I, Witness”. He was portrayed by Kevin McCorkle (at IMDb).
	Unnamed Police Officer III, a protective detail officer in the H Platoon on Major Crimes, Season 2. She was providing Rusty Beck's security detail in in “Pick Your Poison”. The role was uncredited.
	Unnamed Police Officer III, a protective detail officer in the H Platoon on Major Crimes, Season 2. He was providing Rusty Beck's security detail in in “Pick Your Poison”. The role was uncredited.
	Police Officer III Jamey Perez is an element member in the D Platoon on Major Crimes, Season 3.
	Police Officer III Chad Stuart is an element member in the D Platoon on Major Crimes, Season 3.

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