A robbery to foil and a Snorlax to capture. This is the crossroads faced by two US policemen from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell when inside their car they were reached by a request for intervention for a robbery inside a Macy’s store in the Crenshaw Mall of the Californian city.
The final sentence on the case has arrived in these days, but the fact dates back to April 15, 2017, when Pokémon GO (which 5 years after the launch continues to be very playful) had not yet crossed the milestone of its first anniversary, and its overwhelming success had created a nebula of curious and even tragic news, including robbers who lured unsuspecting players by placing baits in the game, traffic accidents and much more.
The two policemen were framed by the recording of the Digital In-Car Video System (DICVS) with which their car was equipped: the video relating to the episode, according to the outcome of the lawsuit, clearly shows how Lozano and Mitchell have ignored in a manner deliberate their duty, preferring to hunt down a Snorlax in the Niantic game rather than the criminals.
On appeal, the defense strategy tried to leverage the fact that the evidence of guilt could not be challenged, arguing that the DICVS registration was used contrary to the law and all this without having received the protection of the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill. of Rights Act. Two arguments that however did not convince the three judges of the Californian court called to put an end to the matter, and who last Friday unanimously confirmed the sentence, asking for and obtaining the dismissal of the two policemen.