Two LA cops were fired for chasing Pokémon instead of chasing thieves. The pair were parked nearby when a radio call came in for officers to respond to a store robbery.
But camera footage from the car showed that they were playing Pokémon Go and chose to chase a nearby Snorlax – a relatively rare catch – rather than answer the call.
The pair denied playing the game, but were fired after an investigation.
Pokémon Go virtual creatures
The details of the case emerged when the latest documents on his appeal – which was dismissed – were discovered by Axios.
After ignoring a radio call, “for approximately the next 20 minutes, [vídeo] captured [os] police officers discussing Pokémon as they drove to different locations where the virtual creatures apparently appeared on their cell phones,” the documents read.
Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell were on patrol when the Macy’s department store was robbed on April 15, 2017.
Another officer, Captain Davenport, who also heard the call, was able to see the store — and another police car parked in a nearby alley, court documents show. The officers nearby did not respond to the call, so Captain Davenport went to the scene of the event – and saw the other police car back up the alley and leave the area.
The two officers later told a sergeant, who was trying to contact them for support, that they did not hear the radio. But the car’s camera footage revealed that they discussed the call and decided not to respond. Five minutes later, they could be heard talking about catching Pokémon.
“Officer Mitchell alerted Lozano that ‘Snorlax… just showed up. [na] 46th and Leimert,’” the documents say.
The duo then set off in that direction to embark on a 20-minute game and discussion session. They could be heard talking about the successful capture of Snorlax and how difficult the battle with Togetic – another Pokémon – was. “The guys are going to be really jealous,” said Officer Mitchell.
‘Extra Patrol’
Both officers denied playing on duty, saying detective detective Mitchell was reading aloud a group of text from other players “bragging about their scores”.
“Det. McClanahan determined that the officers were not being truthful,” the court documents read.
At the subsequent misconduct board hearing found the pair guilty of:
- not responding to a robbery call
- making misleading statements
- not responding to radio when contacted
- playing pokemon go on duty
- make false statements under investigation
The “policemen admitted to leaving their area in search of Snorlax, but insisted they did so ‘both’ as part of an ‘extra patrol’ and to ‘pursue this mythical creature,'” according to the court.
His representatives argued that the car recordings should not have been used to record private conversations and should not have been used as evidence – but this was denied.
The pair then went to court, where their case was dismissed. The appeals court also dismissed the case, saying the rights of the two former officers were not violated.
Material translated from BBC NEWS.
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