Motor Officer
Motor officers, also known as police bikers, are police units designated to use police motorcycles in patrols. Motor officers tend to don different police attire, typically wearing a helmet and boots, but otherwise behave in roughly the same manner as normal police officers that travel in patrol cars.
Throughout the series, only Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories have featured motor officers. While the The Ballad of Gay Tony episodic pack for Grand Theft Auto IV features police motorcycles, it does not have any motor officers.
GTA San Andreas
Appearance
Motor officers in GTA San Andreas ride HPV-1000 motorcycles, which, like other motorbikes, are far more maneuverable, agile and compact than cars. The use of motorcycles also allows them to shoot their pistol at any direction from their bike while pursuing a criminal, even with only a one-star wanted level. Motor officers are only found within cities in San Andreas.
They come with uniforms consisting of a black with white turtle shell helmet, black leather jacket, biker boots, sunglasses, fingerless gloves and black striped pants, are armed with nightsticks and pistols, and are depicted as African American men (with African American accents). Their attire, as well as their choice of motorcycle, apparently mirrors those used by Los Angeles motor officer units during the early 1990s, as well as the depiction of both a T-1000 assuming the guise of an LAPD motorcycle officer in 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day and one of the "Death Squad" SFPD motorcycle officers from the 1973 film Magnum Force.
Like SWAT teams, motor officers in GTA San Andreas are the only police force around the state of San Andreas that are consistent in all areas. (e.g. Rural Police are found in respective areas and each city has a different police force). For that reason, they sport San Andreas Police Department markings.
Behavior
Motor officers behave like all other members of the police, and will brandish a gun if you brandish one, the only extra behavior perk is that they will shoot you from their bikes regardless of your wanted level. Motor officers usually chase you when you have a one-two star wanted level. They will more often than not back off after you get too many stars.
GTA Vice City Stories
Appearance
Motor officers in GTA Vice City Stories are similar to those in GTA San Andreas in various regards. They don similar equipment, including a beige turtle shell helmet, sunglasses and boots (but otherwise feature the same beige-and-brown Vice City Police Department uniforms), as well as the standard issue nightsticks and pistols. However, the police ride VCPD Wintergreens, a police variant of the Wintergreen.
Behavior
As are motor officers in GTA San Andreas, GTA Vice City Stories's counterpart will only chase the player at a one to two star wanted level, until faster, stronger, and all around better VCPD Cruisers arrive to chase them.
Trivia
- Although motor officers in GTA San Andreas are consistently the same throughout the state, inspection of game data (specifically
gta3.dat
) reveals dropped intentions to designate motor officers in each cities in San Andreas with unique textures:- All motor officers in the final version of GTA San Andreas use the texture file initially intended for Los Santos motor officers only (
LAPDM1.txd
andLAPDM1.dff
). - San Fierro motor officers would have been white officers with uniforms similar to those of the Los Santos motor officer, but features dark blue pants with no yellow stripes running down the sides, and metallic-framed sunglasses (
SFPDM1.txd
andSFPDM1.dff
). - Las Venturas motor officers would have been white officers with all-tan and short-sleeved uniforms, tan-and-green helmets, and metallic-framed sunglasses (
LVPDM1.txd
andLVPDM1.dff
).
- All motor officers in the final version of GTA San Andreas use the texture file initially intended for Los Santos motor officers only (
Gallery
-
An early pre-release GTA San Andreas screenshot depicting orange-uniformed motor officers. Its texture was later modified and reassigned for Las Venturas motor officers, but was never used in the final game.
-
GTA San Andreas' motor officer on foot.
-
SFPDM1.txd
, an unused texture map intended for San Fierro motor officers in GTA San Andreas. -
LVPDM1.txd
, an unused texture map intended for Las Venturas motor officers in GTA San Andreas.