You Just Can’t Catch ‘Em All: Two Officers Fired For Skipping Out On Stopping A Robbery To Catch Snorlax

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department decided to skip out on stopping a robbery to play ‘Pokémon Go.’

Imagine you’re getting robbed, and there are some police nearby who could help, but they leave you hanging to play Ash and go catch some Pokémon. That’s literally what two former LAPD officers are accused of doing. 

According to WBZ News Radio, two police officers named Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell were fired from their roles five years ago. They were fired because on April 15, 2017, the two received a report of a robbery taking place at a Macy’s in the Crenshaw Mall, and instead of going to help, they went after a Snorlax saw on ‘Pokémon Go.’ 

Just like that Snorlax, the two got caught up when a captain reportedly saw their police car parked in an alley a little distance away from the mall. The captain said he thought the car belonged to another division or a traffic unit, so he went to help with the call himself, thinking nothing of it. A sergeant who was watching the commander’s office said he noticed the captain responding to the robbery while Mitchell and Lozano were close by. When he reached out to them over their radio system, neither of the officers responded. 

Later on, the sergeant met with Mitchell and Lozano, who both claimed they didn’t hear the call. But, their lies didn’t add up once the sergeant viewed their dashcam. Footage showed the two officers not only hearing the call but also discussing it and deciding not to help with the robbery. A detective ended up studying the audio recordings and learned the officers were playing Pokemon Go at the time of the robbery. 

“Don’t run away. Don’t run away,” Mitchell can be heard saying while attempting to catch a Snorlax,” according to court documents via CBS 17, WBZ News Radio reports. “Got him.”

After the entire ordeal, the former officers tried to have their discharges appealed, claiming they were never playing the game and adding that their conversation was private. They believe being fired was too harsh of a punishment.