Two Police Officers Get Fired For Ignoring A Robbery To Play Pokémon Go
They were far more interested in capturing a Snorlax nearby and their in-vehicle camera captured the whole thing.
Two officers from the Los Angeles Police Department have been officially fired after it was revealed they ignored a robbery to play Pokémon Go instead.
Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell were recorded by their patrol car's video system talking about how to catch a Snorlax back in 2017.
This discussion happened at the same time a call came through that several people were in the process of robbing a Macy's in the Crenshaw area.
While the two police officers claimed they didn't notice the robbery report come through, the digital in-car video system (DICVS) dash cam told a different story.
Court filings revealed the video recording managed to pick up the exact moment the radio request for backup came in and Lozano and Mitchell discussed whether to respond.
Lozano could be heard saying 'ah, screw it' before the two decided to drive around trying to catch different Pokémon.
The DICVS captured Lozano talking about how 'a Togetic just popped up' while they were driving in Crenshaw. Mitchell could be heard saying 'Don't run away. Don't run away' and his colleague said he 'buried it and ultra-balled'.
Mitchell also eventually captured the Snorlax and exclaimed: "The guys are going to be so jealous."
According to NBC, it wasn't until a police captain arrived on the scene of the robbery and noticed Lozano and Mitchell's patrol car sitting close by.
The captain wondered why they weren't on the scene first and that sparked an investigation into their conduct.
The two officers were eventually fired on the grounds of misconduct.
The police board of rights found Lozano and Mitchell were 'unprofessional' and 'embarrassing'. The board said their actions that day 'violated the public's trust' in the police department.
The two officers contested the board's decision and asked a court to see if it could overturn their firing.
They argued that the DICVS footage used in the investigation against them 'violated protections on private conversations between officers', according to Kotaku.
The Superior Court judge denied their petition to overturn their termination.
They two officers then took their fight to an appeals court, who also upheld the decision to fire them on the basis of misconduct.
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Stewart Perrie