A California appellate court has ruled that two Los Angeles police officers were properly fired for playing Pokémon Go instead of responding to a robbery.
Summary
- A California appellate court has ruled that two Los Angeles police officers were properly fired for playing Pokémon Go instead of responding to a robbery.
- The court ruled on Friday that the LAPD was justified in firing Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell for misconduct in 2017, the Sacramento Bee reported Monday.
- A police captain who arrived at the scene saw another patrol car parked nearby and wondered why the officers hadn’t responded and answered it himself, court documents said.
- The officers are then heard for the next 20 minutes discussing the GPS-based Pokémon augmented reality cellphone game and driving to various locations to “capture" virtual creatures, the filings said.
- They were fired after a police board of rights unanimously ruled that the two officers committed misconduct that was “unprofessional and embarrassing" and violated the public’s trust.