The Los Santos Police Department was founded in 1853 during the San Andreas Gold Rush and consisted primarily of a voluntary militia. Due to its location, San Andreas was known for violence with Los Santos becoming one of the most dangerous cities in the United States for several years during this period. The militia group, known as the ‘San Andreas Rangers’ eventually formed the first paid police force when they were merged with another militia company, the Los Santos City Guards, in 1869. The next twenty years would be a turbulent period that saw a total of fifteen Police Chiefs occupy the leadership role until Police Chief William C. Rockford took office and held the position for ten years - overseeing sweeping reforms that turned the department into a cohesive Law Enforcement Agency.

The next 100 years for the department saw it grow into the large, municipal department that it is today. In 1911 the first female officer was sworn into service, three years before the outbreak of World War I; and during both world wars, the department suffered a decrease in manpower as officers were called to serve in the armed forces. In the post-war periods, there was an increase in corruption within the department that anti-corruption teams spent the next decades trying to eradicate, accentuated by the Bloody Easter scandal in 1952 that brought the issue of police brutality to the forefront.

As one of the largest police departments in the country, the Los Santos Police Department was affected by almost every major event in the 20th Century that involved the country. With these events, the department grew and adapted, sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much. Some key events that shaped the department have been selected below. More will be added in the future.

On February 28th 1997, the Los Santos Police Department responded to a bank robbery that would set in motion major changes within the Department. Using body armour and a variety of high-calibre weapons, Garry Phelps Jr. and his accomplice Emilio Materasu attempted to steal a large sum of money from the vaults at the Pacific Standard Public Deposit Bank on Vinewood Boulevard. Officers arriving on the scene reported hearing gunfire from inside the bank and requested additional backup whilst holding the perimeter.

Shortly before 0930, Phelps exited the building from the north side and immediately opened fire on nearby officers - wounding several officers and civilians, as well as forcing the LSPD’s helicopter to fall back before retreating inside again. Shortly afterwards, Materasu exited the building alongside him and engaged officers with automatic gunfire. The officers, who were armed with their standard-issue 9mm or .38 caliber weapons, were unable to penetrate the body armor worn by the suspects, and due to a combination of range and the suppression from automatic fire, were also unable to land shots to their unprotected heads. It wasn’t until the second ‘officer down’ call that the LSPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics was notified by dispatchers and requested on scene.

Both Phelps and Materasu were able to regroup at their getaway vehicle, although Materasu was injured and forced to abandon the duffel bag of money and focus on starting the getaway vehicle. Phelps was also injured by officers when their gunfire struck his HK-91 rifle, forcing him to drop it and remove a new rifle from the vehicle. Materasu moved slowly through the parking lot at the rear as Phelps engaged officers whilst using the vehicle as cover. Once they reached the road, Phelps broke from the vehicle and proceeded to flee down the sidewalk on foot whilst Materasu drove down Clinton Avenue - forcing the officers on the northeastern side to fall back due to overwhelming fire.

Phelps, at this point heading eastward on Clinton Avenue, continued firing his rifle at officers until it jammed just after the intersection with Power Street. Unable to clear the jam, Phelps discarded the rifle and drew his last remaining firearm - a Beretta 92FS and continued to engage officers. He was eventually hit in his right arm, forcing him to drop the pistol before retrieving it and turning it on himself. Officers continued to shoot at Phelps’ body for several seconds afterwards.

Materasu, having continued to drive down Clinton Avenue, was halted when his vehicle was disabled by gunfire. He attempted to carjack a pickup truck he had blocked in the road, however, a SWAT team used a marked cruiser to approach the vehicle and block it in. The team exchanged close range fire with Materasu for a full two minutes before hitting him in his unprotected lower legs and forcing him to surrender. SWAT officers moved in to secure Materasu, pinning him down and handcuffing him. Materasu, having been heavily wounded, died from exsanguination before EMTs could be cleared into the scene to assist him.

In the aftermath of the incident, the US Government began to approve the arming of regular patrol officers. In the LSPD, this saw the introduction of the AR-15 under the designation of the ‘Urban Patrol Rifle’. This rifle would be made available to regular patrol officers who passed the certification and not just to the LSPD’s Metropolitan Division. In addition to this, use of .45 calibre semi-automatic pistols were authorised for officers in the Department - with many opting to utilise the Smith & Wesson Models 4506 and 4566.