The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word SWAT TEAM
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
W
A
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M
More clues leading to the result SWAT TEAM
- Firing squad place inventor in line
- Group of armed policemen hit char on motorway
- Struggling state receives direction to get a mega police force
- Firing squad exercised in the water around matter no end
- Elite police unit’s hesitation after one escapes in mist
- Met was at training for American police squad
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Group of armed policemen" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case group of armed policemen = swat team.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.