Two officers have been fired from the Los Angeles Police Department for playing Pokémon Go while on duty. The two officers were caught on camera earlier this month, walking away from their patrol cars to catch a Pokemon.
According to documents filed in court, two Los Angeles police officers were fired for chasing a character in the game Pokémon Go rather than responding to a robbery call. An investigation revealed that Lozano and Mitchell heard the call but chose to ignore it in favor of pursuing a nearby ‘Snorlax’, another Pokémon character.
Mitchell and Lozano filmed their entire journey, capturing the moment when Mitchell caught the Snorlax. They then drove to a location where Togetic had been spotted and managed to capture it too.
An appeals court on Friday revealed details of an incident that occurred in April 2017, in which Lozano and Mitchell were fired following an investigation.
The recording from Lozano and Mitchell’s car captured the pair discussing Pokémon Go, an augmented reality mobile game that requires users to travel to different locations. Don’t run away,’ while Lozano described how he ‘buried it and ultra-balled’ the ‘Togetic’ before announcing, ‘Got him.’