By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – Pokémon Go has become a smartphone sensation but not with police.
Bloomington Police spokeswoman Sara Mayer reported several incidents tied to Pokémon Go, one in July where a teenager at Miller Park was assaulted in broad daylight by at least six attackers and had to go to the hospital.
PODCAST: Listen to Susan’s interview with Heffner and Mayer on WJBC.
“It is a lesson to always be aware of your surroundings and if something makes you feel uncomfortable and you get a gut feeling that this might be an unsafe situation, try to be aware of your surroundings and get yourself to an area of safety.”
There have been more recent reports of drivers going extremely slow while playing the game. In one case, someone walking their dog thought they were being followed.
“We made a stop on the car and it turns out there some people in the car playing Pokémon Go so they were driving slow to capture the Pokémon,” Mayer said.
In another, the driver had a suspended license and it turns out a passenger was playing the game.
Hybrid gangs
Bloomington Police chief Brendan Heffner said ‘hybrid gangs’ are behind the rash of shootings in the city this summer.
“It’s not unlike some of the other communities my peers in other communities are frustrated as well,” Heffner said. “There’s no good reason to be shooting at each other, particularly if it’s over videos and they just have a beef going on.”
The most recent incident happened in the early morning hours of August 1. No one has been charged in that case.
Heffner said it’s unique that two of the incidents this summer have happened late on a Sunday night – after the weekend – which he said stretches the department’s resources.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
