LBPokemonCop

LBPokemonCop

Long Beach police gave local Pokemon Go users the ultimate surprise Thursday night when a cop drove through Shoreline Aquatic Park blasting the Pokemon theme song through the car speakers.

A large mass of people had reportedly gathered at the park, which is notorious for its Poke Gyms and Poke Stops, to play the game.

“200+ trainers going crazy, every Pokestop was lured and the Gyms were being fought over so fervently that they wouldn’t stay one color for more than a minute,” according to reddit user iaminfamy, who was there catching Pokemon with his girlfriend. “It was a true Pokeparty!”


 

Then the police car drove through the park and boardwalk, near the Aquarium of the Pacific, and people stopped what they were doing and watched the officer turned on the patrol lights and speaker, the reddit user said.

Many thought the officer was going to force the public to vacate the area, he said.

“But the sound that eventually did come out of the loudspeaker was not something anyone was expecting,” said the user. “Those glorious bastards starting playing “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” over their loudspeaker as they rolled down the boardwalk!”

The crowd instantly cheered and hollered and people were high-fiving, he said.

Highlight of the night, LBPD with the Pokemon theme at the Lighthouse. So much hype.

Posted by Sid San on Wednesday, July 13, 2016

“With all the insanity that’s been going on in my country regarding the police shootings and brutality… it’s things like this that give me hope,” iaminfamy added.

Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) officials could not immediately identify the officer or officers interacting with the public, but noted the the positive engagement that is not usually reported.

“This is one example of the many positive contacts we have with the public that typically go unnoticed,” said LBPD Deputy Chief David Hendricks. “We hope everyone enjoys playing the game safely.

In case you don’t remember the Pokemon theme song, or just want to take a trip down memory lane, check out the video below:

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Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.