Police question Pokemon Go player after neighbors get “suspicious”

Eleni Thomas
Pokemon Go radar screen

A Pokemon Go player has shared their “hilarious” story of how a neighbor called the police on them while playing the game during their daily walks.

Part of the appeal that makes Pokemon Go such a popular and unique game is that it encourages players to go outdoors, walk around, and discover new locations in their quest to catch them all.

However, the game’s encouragement of walking, particularly in areas players may be unfamiliar with, can lead to some major misunderstandings. 

For one Pokemon Go player, their daily walks with their partner became a source of suspicious activity for their neighbors, so much so that the police were called to their house to investigate.

The player in question posted the full story on Reddit, recounting the moment when the police appeared at their front door in great detail.

“So, I don’t know who might need a laugh, but the dumbest interaction just happened, and we’re still laughing about it,” began the Pokemon Go player.

“We got a knock on the door asking to speak with my roommate’s girlfriend. Roommate and I were both there, and asked the officer what was wrong, as she was with the kids putting them down for bed. 

“He proceeds to tell us that they had gotten a lot of calls about the couple walking the neighborhood taking pictures with their phones, which we both burst out laughing, and explaining that everyone in the house plays Pokemon Go. He was very chill about it, even talking a bit about how he used to play, and we were discussing how things had changed.”

The Pokemon player then continued. “Nothing came of it, and the officer just asked us to pass on why he stopped by to her, but I thought it was hilarious that you’d call the cops over something so trivial, and not a single call, but multiple ones.”

They finally added, “Just hilarious how people minding their own business, and just walking with phones out was apparently something the state police had to be involved in.”

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The Reddit thread has garnered major traction amongst the Pokemon Go community, with many other players sharing their own experiences of having the police question them while playing the game. 

One Redditor commented, “My husband and I have had the police stop us three times due to suspicious activity while we were sitting in the car at gyms battling. Twice we’ve been told to move on and act like we’re doing something wrong. The other officer was cool and had played before. I can’t imagine having the cops called for walking in my neighborhood playing though.”

Another added, “A church near me has a sign that says “no pokman parking”. I laugh at the typo every time.”