But the court records show that Gomez became suspicious of their “peculiar” excuse and checked the recordings from the officers’ dashcam system.
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He learned that the officers not only ignored the call, but also put out a radio code in a different area, trying to conceal the fact they were near the robbery.
“I don’t want to be his help,” Lozano was heard saying to Mitchell, regarding the commanding officer’s request for backup. “Aw, screw it,” he added.
Five minutes later, Mitchell told Lozano that “Snorlax,” a Pokémon in the mobile game, “just popped up” at a nearby location.
The officers spent the next 20 minutes “discussing Pokémon as they drove to different locations where the virtual creatures apparently appeared on their mobile phones,” according to court documents, which also describe the Snorlax as “the Sleeping Pokémon.”
On their way to capture the Snorlax, Mitchell told Lozano that another Pokémon had appeared — this time it was a Togetic. They prioritized catching the Snorlax before continuing on to capture the Togetic.
After Gomez reviewed the patrol unit’s dashcam footage, his discovery went up the ladder and led to the misconduct investigation that would result in the terminations.
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The officers’ lawyer, Greg Yacoubian, told the Washington Post the officers were disappointed the court found their firings justified, adding that they haven’t ruled out appealing their case in the state’s Supreme Court.
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