Petitioners also denied playing Pokémon Go while on duty.
They claimed they were monitoring a “Pokémon tracker”
application on their phone, but not playing the game itself.
As for “catching” Pokémon, Officer Lozano insisted this referred
to “capturing [an] image” of the Pokémon on the tracking
application to share with friends, while Officer Mitchell said his
statements about “fighting” the Togetic referred to “relaying that
information to the groups on my app,” adding that, “in order to
take the picture, occasionally, the creature will fight.” Lozano
said they were not engaged in a game; rather, it was a “social
media event.” Mitchell said he did not consider the application
a game because it was not “advertised as a game.” Petitioners
admitted leaving their foot beat area in search of Snorlax,
but they insisted they did so “both” as part of an “extra patrol”
and to “chase this mythical creature.”
