A couple of Los Angeles Police Department officers may well seem to have enjoyed “Pokemon Go” that much that they might have forgotten that they’re still on duty. This resulted in them losing their jobs after ignoring a crime that’s in progress at that time.
That ‘Pokémon GO’ grind
Twitter user Jake White (@unioncounsel) took to Twitter to report on the said story alongside some screenshots of the court pages that detail the officers’ neglect. Court document suggests that the police officers could be heard over the radio playing “Pokemon GO.” There was even a part where one of them notified the other about a Snorlax appearing somewhere, Dexerto noted.
Caught on tape
Further, for about 20 minutes, the Digital In-Car Video (DICV) caught the petitioners talking about Pokémon as they drove off to various locations where these Pocket Monsters showed up on their mobile phones. In line with this, as the two head towards the Snorlax spot, one of them has yet again notified the other about the appearance of another Pokémon known as Togetic.
Two LAPD officers were fired for ignoring a call regarding a robbery in progress because they were playing Pokemon Go and had spotted a Snorlax. https://t.co/3rPFEkrJoT pic.twitter.com/zu5SNJ9Dyg
— Jake White (@unioncounsel) January 10, 2022
Their efforts in getting those digital creatures were also recorded as one of them can be heard saying, “Don’t run away. Don’t run away,” while the other stated how he “buried it and ultra-balled” Togetic before him saying that he captured it.
After finally catching those Generation 2s (Pokémon), they could also be heard saying how jealous their fellow officers would get if they knew what they caught.
As mentioned, this led to them getting dismissed from their positions after ignoring an emergency call regarding a robbery taking place. However, they defended that they were just taking photos of the Pokémon for friends within their group. Nonetheless, they admitted to having left their patrol location while they’re on the hunt for Snorlax.