Police Maverick

From Grand Theft Wiki

For the police helicopter in GTA III, see here.

An airborne VCPD Police Maverick in GTA Vice City, in its first appearance in the series as a controllable helicopter.

The Police Maverick is the police adaptation of the civilian Maverick helicopter, and the first controllable police helicopter introduced in series when it debuted in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Description

Like the Maverick, the helicopter has made repeated appearances in all but one GTA game since GTA Vice City (except Grand Theft Auto Advance). In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, the helicopter is usually always parked on the roof of the main police station of the city. In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, it is also not available in a normal game, but can be obtained by a third party trainer program. Like the Maverick, the Police Maverick originally featured two rotor blades, but was modified in GTA IV to feature four.

The Police Maverick controls similarly to the normal Maverick, the only obvious differences being the police livery (depending on the liveries of the local police), and the presence of a microphone (used by the police to address the player from the skies) and powerful searchlight (which is controllable by the player in GTA San Andreas). When flown by police units once the player obtains a 3-star wanted level, the helicopter can drop SWAT units on ropes, and also has an "invisible" machine gun on the fuselage, as well as a searchlight. All these mentioned features do not exist when the player flies this helicopter. In Grand Theft Auto IV, it does not have its "invisible" machine gun under the fuselage anymore, as one of two officers will shoot the player with assault rifles instead; its ability to deploy tactical response units has also been dropped in the game.

Locations

GTA Vice City

On top of the Downtown VCPD helipad.

GTA San Andreas

On top of the LSPD rooftop in Pershing Square, Los Santos after completing the mission Learning to Fly.

GTA Vice City Stories

On roof of the Downtown and Washington Beach police stations.

GTA IV

Only obtainable by sniping the pilot, making the helicopter slowly hover to the ground undamaged. It only works 5/10 times. Also obtainable by an even more frustrating process in which the helicopter is disabled at a low enough altitude that all occupants live, and then the chopper is pushed into a safehouse parking spot. That method probably works less often than the previous.

The Ballad Of Gay Tony

(Multiplayer Only) On the rooftop helipad of the East Holland police station in Algonquin.

Trivia

Airborne Police Mavericks operated by the police in GTA Vice City feature its back doors slid back, but the same back doors of Police Mavericks available for the player to steal swing open instead.
In GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas and GTA Liberty City Stories, if you watch through the helicopter's windshield you can clearly see that there is no pilot flying the helicopter. In Liberty City Stories, this bug was "fixed" and the windows to the helicopter's interior were blacked out and non-transparent. In Vice City stories however, there is a pilot, being a normal police officer without any pilot gear.
In GTA San Andreas and GTA Vice City Stories, the player is able to steal the Police Maverick chasing them on certain occasions.
GTA Vice City Stories features two versions of the Police Maverick. The generic, olive/gold version which can be found at police stations, and a green and white version which looks similar to the original VC Police Maverick except it has it's back doors slid open, the latter is only obtainable through cheat device. The NPC Police Maverick does not use a loudspeaker to yell at the player. Also once the player has destroyed the Police Maverick it drops a Pistol and a Nightstick.
In GTA Vice City, the red light on the back of airborne Police Mavericks is dislocated, and remain in the same place as its predecessor.
In the beta version of GTA San Andreas, there were LSPD Police Mavericks.^[1]

Reference

↑ [LSPD Maverick]

Gallery

An SAPD Maverick in GTA San Andreas.	The LCPD Police Maverick in GTA Liberty City Stories, unobtainable normally.	The VCPD Maverick in GTA Vice City Stories.	The unobtainable Slid-door VCPD Maverick in GTA Vice City Stories, only spawned through cheat devices.
An LCPD Police Maverick in GTA IV, with a police officer seated on the side ready to take aim at the player.