Cue the conspiracy-theorists:

Along with excited and eager fans, SWAT teams and Snipers will be attending Super Bowl XLVIII. The reason for such high precautions is because the Super Bowl is a level one national security event.

Former FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam explains how snipers work in coordination with SWAT teams to give the fans and players ultimate safety.


A heightened law enforcement presence at a high-profile post-9/11 sporting championship is nothing new, and so it surprises me (every year) that some people are just now discovering that there are sniper/spotter teams hidden in stadiums during the Super Bowl. While they don’t disclose their procedures or rules of engagement for obvious reasons, I don’t think it’s a stretch to assert that the primary mission of LEO snipers at the Super Bowl is being the eyes of unit commanders first, and a means to resolve worst-case scenarios with precision fire last.

Frankly, I’m impressed by the sort of high-angle shooting required to work in this sort of environment. It’s a skill I’d like to learn “just because,” but also in the event I ever make it to the mountains out west to hunt.

By the way, ignore everything else said by the reporter about snipers in the linked article once they start talking about how snipers are used in conjunction with other units. She thinks sniper are part of the maneuver element and “aren’t visual.” She’s mis-parroting what she thinks she heard without understanding any of it.

Because of this, her success in the mainstream media is assured.