Dashcam footage released by the Los Angeles Police Department shows two ex-cops ignoring a robbery call to play Pokémon Go.
Officers Luis Lozano and Eric Mitchell were fired in 2018 after an internal investigation and disciplinary panel ruled they violated department policy by failing to respond to several backup robbery calls in 2017, “even though they were parked right across the street.’ The officers then lied about playing a popular mobile game, according to documents from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The footage, which you can see in the video below, was previously described in court documents but was only made public last week.
According to a police internal affairs document, on April 15, 2017, an LAPD captain called for backup after he responded to a report of a robbery at a convenience store involving three suspects who may have struggled with security officers.
Lozano could be heard moaning and saying, “I don’t want to be his sidekick,” in response to the captain’s call, according to a newly released dashcam recording.
An assisting Los Angeles police sergeant also saw Lozan and Mitchell nearby and tried to call their car, which was parked across the street from the store, but there was no answer, the document said.
“They were in an ideal position to respond to the call and provide immediate assistance,” police said. “It appeared that the suspects may have been fighting with security. The officers made no effort to respond to the scene to assist them.”
Despite the constant reports of a robbery on their radio, as well as another attempt by the sergeant to contact them, Lozano and Mitchell decided to leave the area and drive away from the robbery in progress, backing down an alley to avoid being seen. , says the document of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The dash cam then caught the officers talking about a game of Pokémon Go for more than 20 minutes as they sped to different locations to try and catch Snorlax and Togetic. The app relies on its users moving around a physical area to “detect” certain types of Pokemon, which they then have a chance to catch.
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“Officers left the location and began driving to 50th and Crenshaw. As they drove through a residential area, their speed was higher than the speed limit and they ran through a stop sign, the document said.
The former officers then parked as Mitchell tried to catch a Pokemon on the app.
“Guys are going to be so jealous,” Mitchell said after the capture, according to an internal affairs document.
Later that day, Gomez confronted the officers and questioned Lozano and Mitchell about why they didn’t respond to the robbery call, which they said they didn’t hear because they were in a park with loud music. call, says the document of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
According to the document, during an internal investigation, the officers denied playing Pokémon Go while on duty and claimed they only talked about the game. Mitchell said the game notification that can be heard on the DVR was the action of a group of other Pokémon Go players that he was a part of.
Lozano and Mitchell were on the force for about 17 years and seven years, respectively, before being fired. They pleaded guilty to failing to respond to a radio call but pleaded not guilty to other charges, the Los Angeles Times reported. An appeals court last year upheld that the Los Angeles police had the right to fire them, the Times reported.
Greg Jakubian told the LA Times that his clients were “treated unfairly,” arguing that the department violated its own rules by using a recording of their private conversation to prove their misconduct.
“The officers’ right to privacy is really what was at issue here, and there’s no dispute that (the dashboard camera) was left inadvertently activated,” Yakubian told the publication.
