Pokémon continues to get people in trouble.
LAPD Officers Skip Burglary to Catch Snorlax in Pokémon Go
Written by Ollie Bradley at 01/27/2022, 01:38 PM
For all the good it brings, Pokémon Go certainly has a knack for getting people into trouble. The sign of a good game is if it compels you to break quarantine rules in spite of the risk of arrest. Or if it compels you to play in church in spite of the risk of arrest. Or if it compels you to play instead of carrying out an arrest as was the case with two Pokémon-hunting police officers in Los Angeles.
[They] ignored a radio call to help with a robbery in order to catch a Snorlax. Which is especially heinous - because Snorlaxes aren’t even that rare. I have three of them.
In an old legal case unearthed by Axios, two LAPD officers lost their jobs because they decided that playing the augmented reality Pokemon game was more important than fighting real-life crime. As when a call went out to aid with a Macy’s department store robbery, Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell elected to ignore it in favour of pursuing some nearby Pokémon.
Whether or not the two deserved their fate is a matter of perspective. On one hand, the incident occurred when Pokémon Go mania had swept the globe back in April 2017 and the world was awash with Pokémon Go incidents. While on the other, the two had ignored a radio call to help with a robbery in order to catch a Snorlax. Which is especially heinous - because Snorlaxes aren’t even that rare. I have three of them.
Regardless, the story was unearthed due to their unsuccessful attempt to appeal the verdict. Meaning their fate is pretty much sealed thanks to the in-car camera footage which depicts them ignoring the radio call only to discuss the Snorlax that had ‘just popped up at 46th and Leimert’.
The irony of two apathetic police officers being brought down by the Pokémon embodiment of laziness certainly isn’t lost on us. But we at least hope that the officers have an impressive collection to show for it now.
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