Civil Protection

"Now it looks like we're gonna have to cut a path through every chickenshit Metrocop who's having second thoughts about defending City 17!"

- Barney Calhoun

Civil Protection is essentially the thought police of all urban areas on Earth, including City 17. Its officers are named "Metro Cops", while the spelling "Metrocops" and the initials "CPs" are also used. The CP entity uses the term "Metropolice", and the subtitles "MetroPolice". The Overwatch Voice simply uses the term "Protection".

Part of the Combine Overwatch, CPs are ordinary human volunteers who have willingly joined the Combine, either for more privileges, such as additional food, better living conditions, an increase in authority and status over others, or out of genuine sympathy and identification with the Combine's aims. As such, they are not bio-mechanically modified in any way, unlike the two other Overwatch units. Barney Calhoun is notable for having infiltrated the Combine by joining the Civil Protection ranks as an undercover Resistance member.

Overview



 * CPs wear white masks to disguise their faces, with built in vocoders to disguise their voices; these each contain a radio and air filters, and look similar to gas masks. Officers wear a combat vest, leather boots with a black-green uniform, an armband on the right arm, with "c17:i4" written in Impact emblazoned on it (it is unknown what "i4" means), and "C17" in the back of the collar.


 * CPs are typically armed with USP Match pistols and Stun Batons. In more critical circumstances, they will be issued with MP7s and use mounted OSIPRs. Some officers are also armed with a deployable Manhack and/or flare gun to call for help.


 * CPs heavily communicate with the Overwatch Voice over their radios; they are thus constantly fed mission objectives, rewards, reminders, and are directed to respond to certain incidents (such as the locations of downed units or other criminal acts).


 * CPs are almost always encountered in squads or teams, and will employ very basic tactics, such as covering one another and running to cover when injured or reloading. CPs normally attack in an aggressive manner, and will give pursuit to evading suspects. The Overwatch Voice also suggests that each squad has a particular leader.


 * When a CP is killed, its radio emits a prolonged tone similar to that of a flatlining ECG, followed by the Overwatch Voice declaring the unit down, along with his last known location and orders to nearby units to respond. In fact, the constant radio chatter will generally give away unit positions before they are visible, indicating the generally inferior training the Civil Protection officers receive compared with their Overwatch brethren.


 * CPs are generally kept separate from Combine military units, such as Overwatch Soldiers or Synths, and stay in a policing role within the cities. They travel in APCs and Dropships and are often accompanied by City Scanners or Manhacks.


 * CPs sometime stand on Combine Watchtowers. From there they can fire flares to alert the other nearby CPs or fire at targets.


 * Certain transmissions heard over the Civil Protection radios suggest that officers are rewarded with, in the words of the Overwatch Voice, "non-mechanical reproduction simulation" for good job performance. It is unknown what it really implies, although it can be surmised that it is somehow sexual. Another reward addressed by the Overwatch Voice evokes a "family cohesion" being "preserved", suggesting that a mission failure might cause trouble to the family of a Metrocop. Other radio transmissions suggest that additional privileges are gained if a CP has its memory replaced, this being related to the promotion to Overwatch Soldier or Overwatch Elite by willfully surrendering more and more human features and characteristics. Another transmission suggest that CPs are provided with "anti fatigue rations" of at least 3mg; this is likely some psychoactive drug to help the individual stay awake longer.

Tactics

 * CPs are not as organized and effective as the two other Overwatch units, and generally use weaker, more basic weapons, and are not very accurate.


 * CPs almost always work in groups, so when in a firefight with a squad or two, it is advised to hide as much as possible and shoot while they are reloading. As almost all of the fighting they have ever known is using force against unarmed, helpless Citizens, they will appear as being experienced with firefights, thus making easy targets. CPs also do not use melee attacks unless against an unarmed opponent, in which case they will use a Stun Baton.


 * In the early Half-Life 2 levels, a few pistol shots will kill a CP. In close quarters, a couple of hits with the crowbar will kill them. If they drop a Stun Baton in combat, it can be used as a battery for the HEV Suit. Later in the game, the best weapon to use against them is the MP7 which can easily dispatch large numbers of them at once.


 * In the Canals levels, many explosive barrels are scattered on, under or near wooden structures where CP tend to stand. It is advised to shoot the barrels for more effective (and spectacular) results.


 * In the Canals again, CPs often tend to throw themselves in the path of the Airboat or stand on breakable wooden structures, in a similar way to the Overwatch Soldiers with the Buggy in the Coast levels. This should be used as well for more effective results.

Behind the scenes



 * Metrocops were originally to have other colors on their uniforms, such as red or yellow, and the right armband colored red. One version also depicts them with bright blue eyes.


 * A Civil Protection headquarters building was originally to be seen near the Manhack Arcade, with above it the sign "C17 MP", or "City 17 Metropolice".


 * CPs were originally to stand in Door / Guard Towers, hanging cabins used either to operate gates or guard an area. CPs were also to use early Combine Watchtowers near Sensor Gates, an other cut Combine device.


 * According to Valve's animator Doug Wood, the Metro Cop went through several sets of animations during its development. None of them felt right until the team decided to give the CP a more bullying personality. Then Wood put a slight swagger into the CP walk and changed the chest posture to a more leading position.

Elite Metro Cop
Civil Protection was to have its elite version, just like the Overwatch Soldier has the Overwatch Elite. This Elite Metro Cop model is mostly the same as the standard model, but with a different helmet, as well as a different skin, such as a red patch on the chest, red shoulder-pads and gray trousers. It cannot be found in the leaked files.

Combine Guard
Sharing its name with the part-human, part-Synth unit, this unit is apparently the first humanoid unit to have been suggested, and probably an early higher rank CP, like the Elite Metro Cop. Concept art from Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar show a soldier with a long trench coat inspired in part by the German SS uniforms of World War II. The different helmet versions were the basis of the final Metrocop and the Overwatch Soldier.

Trivia



 * The name Civil Protection could be seen as 'doublethink' (A term from George Orwell's dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, sharing other similarities with the Half-Life 2 universe), or the ability to accept and believe two mutually contradictory beliefs at the same time, which becomes apparent pretty quickly due to the way they treat Citizens. Civil Protection could be read as a protection of the state from Citizens, instead of protecting the Citizens themselves.


 * An Orange Box Achievement, "Defiant", requires to hit the famous "Pick up that can" Metrocop with the can.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life 2
 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
 * Half-Life 2: Episode One