GTA IV Cops: A day in the life of a Liberty City police officer

"I tell you one thing — working police in Liberty City ain’t like it is anywhere else. And it ain't like you see on TV — I tell you that."

I’m in a squad car with Officer Mike Cabroni of the Liberty City Police Department. Cabroni has policed these streets for six years and is one of the few LCPD officers willing to publicly discuss the city’s enduring one-man crime wave.

No one in local law enforcement seems to know this mysterious criminal’s name. LCPD officially refer to him as "Perp 1." Possible street names identify him as "Nicky," "Neeko," and "Cahzin." Cabroni, in his thick Broker accent, calls him, simply, "The Guy."

"I mean, The Guy’s unbelievable. Four years of this shit — shooting guys in the street, setting fire to people in cars, running them down. Who would want to do that? This is one sick guy we're talking about here."

Given the LCPD's repeated failure to apprehend Perp 1, many in the department turn silent when questioned about him. Cabroni doesn't see the point in keeping quiet.

"People know we've messed this up. Everyone knows. So why hide it? All I know is that one day soon we'll get the guy. I'll get the guy if it's the last thing I do in this jo –"

Cabroni stops talking as he hears a car engine roar. He watches a Saloon vehicle rush up behind us.

"Now look at this jerkoff."

He addresses the driver. 

"Hey, jerkoff, lay off the gas!"

The saloon smashes into traffic behind us. Vehicles spill onto the sidewalk and pedestrians scream and flee. I turn back to Officer Cabroni.

"Yeah, I know, I know. But the bosses don't let us arrest anyone for this kind of thing anymore. We can't take someone in for reckless driving because all the higher-ups care about is catching The Guy."

The Saloon pulls up beside us. It's badly dented, the passenger door has been ripped off, and the driver's side window is smashed. The driver is a dark-haired, tired-looking man of probable Eastern European descent. He bears a striking resemblance to The Guy. A shiver passes through my body, and I can't help but mention this similarity to Cabroni.

"Hehe — you just stick to your notebook, pal. You think a master criminal is just gonna pull all this shit behind a cop car? Think again."

Cabroni and I stop at a donut shop. As we discuss Perp 1's identity, I take out my paperwork, which includes a copy of the only known photo of the suspect. I push the photo over the table to Cabroni, who stops chewing as he notices it.

"Ahh … you got that too, huh? Shit."

The photo appears to be well known within LCPD, but this may be the only copy in possession of anyone outside of the department. It's a still from a CCTV camera capturing a man who's almost certainly Perp 1. Damningly, he stands outside a Liberty City police station; the camera footage shows him being released.

"Yeah, well, I don't know what to tell you. A lot of people go in and out of our shops. Sometimes the station won't check prints, won't check priors — just do the people for whatever they were caught on and flip them back onto the street."

The paperwork at that station is sketchy. A man fitting Perp 1's description was arrested for killing pigeons in Dukes. The man was fined but — incredibly — was allowed to keep the array of weapons found on his person at the time.

"Well if you take their guns away, they'll just go buy others. They're cheap, you know? But I'll give you this, there's something funny about this one. Maybe someone's wanting to keep this guy on the street or something."

We're back in the car now. Officer Cabroni pulls over on Nickel St.

"I'll tell you a story. Buddy of mine, Louie, used to work Broker. Anyway, one day he turns on to Joliet and sees this preacher guy. Louie likes the preacher, so he stops to say hello. All of a sudden The Guy appears and throws a bottle at the preacher. He bursts into flames. Must've been one of those things, what you call it, a Voulevant Cocktail?

"So Louie jumps out and chases The Guy. Well, The Guy runs around the block, then jumps into Louie's squad car and drives off. I've never heard anything like it. Crazy, huh?

"Well, it gets weirder. A few weeks later, Louie's back at that same spot, and he sees his squad car parked in the street. Turns out The Guy had been living in the apartment next to where he killed the preacher. Well, we raided the place, but the landlady said she hadn't seen The Guy in ages.

"Anyway, Louie gets the car back, and here's the funny thing: When he checked the computer, turns out that someone had been using it to read up on perps. And a lot of those guys had died since the car was stolen. So we think the guy was using it to find and kill other criminals — for revenge or to take out the competition or something, I dunno. So, sometimes I wonder, does someone in charge want this guy kept out on the streets if he's killing all the other guys we're after despite the damage he's doing himself?

"I mean, you don't want to think like that, but someti — holy shit!"

Cabroni points to his right, where a man stands on top of a car firing an assualt rifle.

"That's The Guy!"

This man, who I now recognize from both the CCTV still and the car I saw earlier, is firing indiscriminately into a crowd. Another police car pulls up, and The Guy and fires at it. Soon the car is aflame. The two officers have retreated and are returning fire. Shots fired by the suspect pepper our windshield, spraying glass all over us. I duck down, and when I look back up, I see the suspect climb down from the roof, drag a taxi driver from his cab, and then drive off in it. Cabroni accelerates, giving chase.

The taxi races ahead. Cabroni and I are soon joined by a number of other police cars.

"Wow, look at all these guys. This must be a three-star call. Maybe even a four."

The taxi takes a number of turns, often veering onto the pavement. The suspect takes a sharp right downhill. We get right behind him when he pauses briefly outside a garage, then takes another right. He circles the block and drives downhill again and … vanishes.

Cabroni stops, stunned. Other police cars nudge us as they screech to a halt . We sit and stare, collectively dumbfounded. How can a car disappear like that?

The garage doors open and a taxi drives out. But while the one we chased became dented, this one looks brand new. The licence plates are different. Yet the driver looks practically identical to the man we've just chased. There was no space in that garage for a second car, but still I can't shake the notion that this is The Guy. I mention this to Cabroni, who shakes his head dejectedly.

The taxi passes us slowly, and I stare at the driver. How can this not be The Guy? I notice yellow streaks on the ground behind it. This car's had a new coat of paint. I point this out to Cabroni.

"I'd know if it was the same guy, OK. We're not stupid."

Behind us, the taxi stops. The driver gets out and turns to face us.

"What, so he's coming towards us, big deal. Doesn't mean a thing. So he's aiming something at us. You can't just arrest everyone who does that.

"… what is that, a rocker launcher?"