A game more important than the service? American policemen have problems

Mobile technology and games dedicated to it have undergone tremendous development in the last decade. The titles that we can take anywhere, no matter where we go, are getting more and more absorbing. Two policemen serving in Los Angeles were convinced of this.

Rare pokemon better than the duties

The first act of the situation took place almost five years ago, although the matter is still pending today. On April 15, 2017, the Los Angeles Police Department received a report of an ongoing robbery in one of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza stores. The report was picked up by police officer Seargent Gomez, who immediately asked for support.

As it turns out, he did not receive any support. The summoned Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchel did not respond to his call, initially claiming that they did not hear him because they were in a high part of the city. Gomez requested verification of the recordings inside the police car. The result of the inspection turned out to be shocking.

Lozano and Mitchel heard the call and then discussed whether it was worth answering. They focused on hunting rare creatures in the game Pokemon GO. They then managed to catch Snorlax and Togetica, while tightening the noose around the neck of their employment.

The policemen appealed

The policemen were charged with a number of charges related to the lack of response to the call and playing during the service, ultimately dismissing them from their jobs. However, they did not agree with the imposed penalty, deciding to appeal.

Former uniforms stated that the authorities had carried out a groundless interrogation of recordings from inside the car, at the same time violating their rights. Additionally, they denied some of the allegations of playing Pokemon GO, while admitting to leaving the patrol area in order to catch Snorlax.

The full legal course of the situation ended a few days ago. It was established that the steps taken against the policemen were right, and that the reconstruction of the recordings from the police car did not infringe the rights of the former policemen.