Pokémon Go had a chokehold on pop culture in 2016 and 2017, so much so that two Los Angeles Police Department officers ignored a request for backup because they were too busy playing the addictive app.
As reported last year, LAPD officers Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell were fired after they refused to assist a captain with a reported robbery at Crenshaw Mall so they could play more Pokémon Go. Now the dashcam footage has finally been released, via 404 Media, showing the two officers ignoring the robbery in progress. "After that, a Togetic just popped up," one of the officers can be heard in the clip.
The footage shows that they even drove down a one-way street so they could catch the Pokémon they were after. "Oh, this is a one-way street," the officers laugh while making an illegal U-turn. "Got him!" they said at another point. "It's the evolved form of Togepi."
Lozano and Mitchell were radioed by a captain in April 2017 to assist. When they did finally respond, Sergeant Jose Gomez was simply told, "No." When Gomez questioned them about the situation later that day, they denied ever hearing a request for backup and said there were lots of loud noises and music in the area at the time. They were charged with six counts of on-duty misconduct and terminated and had their appeals for reinstatement denied.
Footage from the day was reported on but not released. In those clips, the two officers could be heard debating whether to respond to the request. “I don’t want to be his help,” Lozano said. They have been accused of spending at least 20 minutes talking about their love for Pokémon Go as they hoped to capture a Snorlax. When questioned about the conversation, they said they were simply "having a conversation" while doing their job. However, a detective determined they "were not being truthful."
