L.A. cops ignored call about a robbery in progress because they were playing Pokémon Go: court documents

According to Bloomberg News, a pair of LAPD officers who failed to respond to a robbery in progress while playing Pokémon Go have lost a lawsuit that claimed the use of the recordings of them hunting Pokémon amounts to wrongful termination.

According to court filings, the recordings clearly showed Officers Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell using their police vehicle to drive to various locations to acquire creatures in the game.

"For ... 20 minutes, the DICVS captured petitioners discussing Pokémon as they drove to different locations where the virtual creatures apparently appeared on their mobile phones," stated the filing. "On their way to the Snorlax location, Officer Mitchell alerted Officer Lozano that 'a Togetic just popped up.'"

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Pokémon Go is a mobile augmented reality game that allows people to catch and battle monsters by traveling to real-world locations to collect them. It was a particular phenomenon in 2016 immediately after its original release, and caused a number of legal problems including people trespassing on private property to visit spawn locations.

Read the full court document at this link (PDF).