Two LAPD officers fired for playing Pokémon Go on duty Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Two LAPD officers fired for playing Pokémon Go on duty All for a pesky Snorlax. News by Ed Nightingale News reporter Updated on 11 Jan 2022 29 comments Two Los Angeles police officers were fired for playing Pokémon Go instead of responding to a robbery in progress, newly-released documents have revealed. As revealed in court documents (and reported by Vice), police officers Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell were fired for "wilfully abdicating their duty to assist a commanding officer's response to a robbery in progress and playing a Pokémon mobile game while on duty." The incident occurred in an LA mall in April 2017. A patrol supervisor asked Lozano and Mitchell to respond to an apparent robbery, but they ignored the call and instead ventured off to catch a Snorlax. Watch on YouTube A digital in-car video system (DICVS) recorded the officers' conversations as they spotted the Snorlax and discussed their strategy to catch it. "For approximately the next 20 minutes, the DICVS captured [Mitchell and Lozano] discussing Pokémon as they drove to different locations where the virtual creatures apparently appeared on their mobile phones," read the court documents. "On their way to the Snorlax location, Officer Mitchell alerted Officer Lozano that 'a Togetic just popped up'." The officers caught the Snorlax and then proceeded to the Togetic. "Holy crap, man. This thing is fighting the crap out of me," said Mitchell. "Holy crap. Finally... the guys are going to be so jealous." Following the incident, Mitchell and Lozano lied about what happened, claiming they were catching "images" of Pokémon and that the game was more of a "social media event" that was not "advertised as a game". In earlier court filings, the board of rights stated "playing Pokémon Go showed complete disregard for the community, wasted resources, violated public trust and was unprofessional and embarrassing to the Department." As the officers lied, "Their behaviour reflected gross negligence, cowardice, lack of thoughtfulness and deceit". The two LAPD officers lost an appeal of the decision on 7th January 2022. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 7 Nintendo Switch firmware update lets you take screenshots in the Switch Online app The app on your console, not your phone. 7 Latest Articles Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Jelly Deals Logitech's G Pro X gaming headset is its lowest-ever price during Amazon's Early Access sale Prime Members can get it for just £52. Jelly Deals Save over £500 off the retail price on this beefy ASUS TUF Dash gaming laptop from Amazon Under £1080 for an RTX 3070 laptop. Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store