“Call for backup, 211 in progress! On April 15, 2017, Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell patrolled the streets of downtown Los Angeles when a radio alert called for reinforcements for an ongoing burglary at the Crenshaw Mall, a nearby shopping center. But instead of helping their colleagues during this “chaotic” situation, they decide … to go hunting the Pokémon. Almost four years later, their dismissal was upheld on appeal on Friday, according to court documents released on Monday.

The two LAPD agents first assured that they had not heard the radio alert. But they were betrayed by the recording of their dashcam, which captured their conversations. “It's up to you, I don't want them to think we're ignoring the radio,” Officer Mitchell begins. “Ah, screw it ” (“Who cares, too bad”), replies Lozano.

Damn, This Stuff Is Getting Me Out Of My Mind

Five minutes later, “Agent Mitchell alerted Lozano that Snorlax” (Snorlax in their original version), a pioneer Pokémon, “had just appeared”, state official documents on file for their dismissal.

For about 20 minutes after the call for help, the two policemen were recorded “chatting about Pokémon as they drove to different places where virtual creatures presumably appeared on their phones,” the documents added. last week.

The valiant law enforcement officers manage to lock Snorlax but Togetic, another Pokémon, gives them a hard time. “Fuck, man, this stuff is getting me off the hook,” Officer Mitchell said according to the transcripts.

Road Accidents

The two police officers were prosecuted for multiple misconduct and misconduct. They admitted to having failed to answer the call for help for this burglary but denied having been playing Pokémon Go. Stating that they had only discussed this game – while talking about ” mythical creature ”for Snorlax, particularly rare at this time. They had contested their dismissal but the court of appeal did not believe their explanations and upheld the sanction on Friday.

When it was released in 2016, Pokémon Go had aroused the enthusiasm of millions of followers around the world but this hunt for virtual monsters had also caused some unrest. The popularity of the game was such that several military bases had to remind soldiers of the dangers of playing on such facilities, especially near airstrips. Many Pokémon hunters had also been involved in traffic accidents.