Racoon City's Special Corporation

Originally a small hamlet in the Arklay Mountains,Raccoon City became heavily industrialized during the twentieth century, mostly from investment from Umbrella.

From 1987 onwards, under the guidance of Michael Warren, the city grew rapidly, transforming from a small mountainous community to an industrialized city. However, the city's expansion and modernization was accompanied by a spiraling crime rate. The Raccoon City Police Department (RPD) established the Special Tactics And Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S) in 1996 as a countermeasure to the wave of crime.

A series of bizarre cannibal homicides occurred in the forests of the Arklay Mountains north-west of the city, beginning in May 1998 and continuing through the following months. Victims were mostly hikers and campers who ventured into the forest. The bodies found were mauled by dogs and partially eaten by humans or other unidentified creatures. The police were at a loss to explain or stop the phenomenon, blaming it on cult activity. Eventually, the road leading into the Arklay Mountains was cordoned off by the Raccoon Police, and citizens were warned not to go into the forest or mountains. On July 23, S.T.A.R.S. was deployed to the area to investigate the Raccoon Forest.S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team's helicopter made a forced landing in the area due to mechanical problems, and S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team was sent to rescue them. Of the twelve S.T.A.R.S. members and Raccoon City Police Department backup pilot sent to the Arklay Mountains, only five returned alive. They reported having discovered a mansion where the Umbrella Corporation had been conducting illegal biological weapons experiments with a mutagenic agent called the "Tyrant virus". The grounds were crawling with the results of that research, including zombies. However, the mansion and all evidence had been destroyed, and due to Umbrella's influence on the city and the corrupt Chief of Police Brian Irons, who was under Umbrella's pay-roll, the survivors' claims were dismissed and no formal investigations were undertaken. The S.T.A.R.S. unit was formally disbanded shortly after by Chief Irons, replaced by the Raccoon SWAT.

Racoon Facility-Umbrella Corp. Theme song