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Overview[]

Pursuit Cops are elite City Protection Force officers who have received special training in Parkour and hand-to-hand combat at the Pirandello Kruger facilities in order to directly combat Runners. They are the weapon of choice in the City regime's mission to destroy the Runners once and for all and dismantle the black market's information networks.

Pursuit Cops are highly trained and are capable of taking down Runners by using their own tactics (Parkour) against them. They are trained at large and secretive obstacle courses, most likely constructed by Pirandello Kruger or Callaghan Construction Corp. It is assumed that more than one such facility exists, due to the fact that the course encountered in the game is marked by the number "05".

Pursuit cops wear dark teal clothing and are donned with mostly black armor, a full-face mask, and a reflective City Protection Force badge. They are armed with "Drive Stun" (not projectile based) M26 Tasers and Grenades. Pursuit cops also use advanced hand-to-hand combat to deal with Runners. They can be killed, but it is usually not a good idea to do so as other Pursuit Cops will often outnumber you and quickly take you down, especially if you fight them hand-to-hand. You cannot pick up their Tasers or Smoke Grenades.

In the game, they appear only twice: in chapters "Pirandello Kruger" and "Kate". Because they are extremely agile and armed with M26 Tasers, the best tactic is to outrun them: while trained to chase Faith through normal obstacles, they will not attempt extraordinary feats like jumping onto a moving train or leaping off of a very tall building.

They are extremely agile and experts at hand-to-hand combat, attacking the player with flying kicks and dodging other attacks with back handsprings and more. They also appear to be nimbler than the Runners, as in segments where Faith must wallrun to reach a certain area, the Pursuit Cops can simply jump to that area. While the player is usually told to run from them, they can be taken down.

Origins[]

The Pursuit Cops were the result of Project Icarus, a joint operation between Pirandello Kruger and the City Protection Force to destroy the Runners. Pursuit Cops are CPF cops who are trained by P.K. in the practice of Parkour, and their goal is to try to apprehend or subdue Runners, usually whilst the runner is using Parkour themselves. A specific title for these officers is never mentioned in the story, but they are referred to as "Pursuit Cops" in the artwork section of the "Unlockables" menu.

Project Icarus is first mentioned at the beginning of the game when Faith picks up a piece of paper with "Icarus" written on it. She encounters a screen midway through the story that shows herself, Mercury, Celeste Wilson, and many other runners who are being targeted (Celeste's is notably altered). It is revealed at the container ship that Celeste is secretly an early test subject of the project and a double agent, therefore explaining the difference of her file.

In Greek mythology, Icarus's father Daedalus built wings out of feathers and wax to allow them to escape Crete. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, but Icarus ignored his father's warning. As a result, Icarus' wings melted from the heat of the Sun, and he fell to his death. A possible explanation for the name of the program is that the Runners, (taking to the rooftops) are getting too close to the "sun" by challenging the City's authority, and as a result must have their wings clipped. Therefore, the title of "Project Icarus" might have been selected because the Pursuit Cops taking down the Runners is an analogy to Icarus' wings melting when he became too comfortable and too confident in his abilities. The same wings that granted Icarus (and the Runners) his freedom, became the instrument of his death after he refused to accept the limitations.

Tactics[]

When first approached they will attempt a spinning kick, which is easily countered with a sliding kick (crouched punches are ineffective). Regular punches are risky when used consistently and are often countered. If the player attacks multiple times the cop will backflip away and attack. Additionally, Pursuit Cops are barely affected by Faith's crotch kick despite not having any armor around said area.

  • Suggested Combo: Sliding Kick, Double Punch, Charge, Flying Kick, Double Punch (depending on current game difficulty).
  • Pursuit Cops are easily killed with firearms.
  • If at a long distance from Faith, they will try to fly kick her. As soon as they jump, slide kick them - as they can't obtain much distance. While they are stunned for a brief moment, quickly throw punches at them and they will easily go down.
  • When they come out of a back handspring, they are motionless for a few seconds. This gives you time to jump kick them, and they will also be stunned for a brief moment from this attack. Like the move mentioned above, quickly throw punches at them to defeat them. Or alternatively, you can disarm them from behind.
  • Unlike the rest of enemy units in the game (excluding riot shield officers), they will not turn around when kicked after a wall run. Instead, they will spin once and appear stunned for a few seconds.
  • A fairly easy way to take them down is to dodge their fly kick and come at them from behind. You can then disarm them, in which they will be stunned with their own weapon.
  • Possibly the easiest tactic against them is to simply lure them to a tall wall, run up, perform a quick turn (180º) on the wall and jump off it. It should then be very easy to land on one of them while pressing the attack button, which will incapacitate them instantly.
  • There are a couple points in the game where you may acquire an automatic weapon, particularly a section in which the Pursuit Cops will jump down to your location. As they jump, enter Reaction Time (slow motion mode) and shoot them in the air. While you may only be able to kill one of them, you can easily dispatch the other Pursuit Cop with your remaining bullets, or the techniques mentioned above. During the first pursuit in "Pirandello Kruger" it is possible to kill/incapacitate all of the attackers; even on hard difficulty. With enough practice, you can battle as many Pursuit Cops as you like.

Trivia[]

  • Pursuit Cops are always encountered in groups of at least two.
  • It is possible that the character of Icarus from Mirror's Edge Catalyst was named in reference to Project Icarus.

Gallery[]

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