They were joined by six pilots from the Glendale and Burbank Air Support Team.
Members wore full safety gear but were unarmed during the exercise.
Police were simulating a situation where there was an active shooter on top of a high-rise building on the 300 block of North Glen Oaks Blvd. in Burbank.
They say the gunman would assume that officers were coming through the front door to get him.
Instead, they say by landing on top of the building with a helicopter they can practice the element of surprise.
The SWAT team does this kind of training twice a year. It's paid for out of the city's general fund.
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