One of the changes made shortly after the September 11 attacks was the colour scheme of the police cars; the original colour scheme of blue with white stripes specifically resembled that of the New York City Police Department. It was changed to black-and-white designs common among several police departments in the United States, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. Other changes include altering the flight path of a plane to avoid appearing to fly into or behind a skyscraper, removing a mission referencing terrorists, as well as some changes to pedestrian dialogue and talk radio. Another cut to the game is the character of Darkel, a revolutionary urchin who vowed to bring down the city's economy. When references to Darkel were found in the game's code, speculation arose that the character was related to 9/11, however Dan Houser explained that the character had been cut "months before ". There are also reports and previews stating that the game featured school children as pedestrians prior to release, although Rockstar has dismissed such rumours as "nonsense".