Pokemon Go players may be causing a certain level of mischief around the country, but it still can be used for good and bad, depending on which of these stories you prefer. Thanks to the app, one American man who had a warrant out for his arrest wandered into a police station while playing the game. You can’t make this stuff up.
William Wilcox of Milford, MI was riding his bike in his pajamas — because of course he was — while heading to a local Pokemon gym in the area. Unbeknownst to him, the gym in question was the Milford Police Department building, and Wilcox had a warrant issued for his arrest. As Wilcox wandered over to start training his Pokemon, officers recognized him immediately and apprehended him. Milford Police Chief Tom Lindberg told local NBC affiliate KCBD how he tipped his cap to the gaming app for its assistance:
“Fortunately, sometimes they make our job easy for us. The original charge he had was for breaking and entering, but the warrant was for failure to appear for sentencing. He either forgot he had a warrant out for his arrest or was just ignoring it thinking nothing will happen.”
What makes this situation even more ridiculous is that the arrest didn’t frustrate Wilcox the most, according to Lindberg:
“I think he was more upset that he had to stop playing the game. Don’t just walk into the police building and start playing the game. Most of those characters will appear outside the building.”
Michigan seems to be cracking down on Pokemon Go users as of late. This situation in particular highlights a whole new use for the Pokemon Go app. Just think, police officers and investigators could use it as a way to capture those that have evaded the law. A new form of law enforcement is here.
On the other side of the good/bad spectrum, one hapless player — who did not have a warrant for his arrest — also ended up in jail in Indonesia. A 27-year-old Frenchman in Indonesia was trying to catch them all when he wandered onto a military base, which ended in his arrest. This created plenty of confusion and several hours of detainment, but perhaps he found a good Pokemon to make the inconvenience worth it.