Baltimore police have released video footage of a police vehicle being hit by a car. It was later revealed the driver was playing the popular augmented reality game “Pokemon Go.”
According to the video, two officers were out on call for service at around 3:30 a.m. on July 18. The officers were standing just outside of their parked patrol car when a Toyota SUV suddenly swerved and struck the police cruiser.
Fortunately, no occupants were in the patrol car, and nobody in the SUV was injured. After police tracked the vehicle, the driver, who appeared to be a young man, bemoaned he had been distracted by the game.
At a news conference discussing the event, the Baltimore Police Department’s public information officer, T.J. Smith, stressed the officers could have been injured. Adding that he had no qualms with the “Pokemon Go” itself, he stressed there be new safety measures corresponding with the new technology. He also referenced a “Pokemon Go” incident in Baltimore last week where three players were robbed at their destination point by armed suspects.
“We know that as new technology comes along we just have to tell people new things. And now, pay attention to your surroundings. There are way too many people that have their heads buried in their phone trying to catch a Pokemon, and the criminals are catching you,” said Smith.
The incident is the latest in a string of distraction incidents triggered by the game. Players have fallen off skateboards, fallen into ponds, and have even fallen off cliffs.
