In Pokémon GO, a trainer recently scanned PokéStops in a park, triggering a police response. We at MeinMMO took a look at how the situation unfolded and how it ended for the player.
What kind of function is this anyway? In Pokémon GO, trainers have the ability to scan PokeStops to level them up. This grants them additional items such as balls, berries, or potions from these stops, as well as more spawns in the vicinity of the stop.
However, this harmless function recently led to trouble for a Pokémon GO trainer and resulted in an encounter with the police. We explain what happened.
Here we show you how you can scan PokéStops yourself to make power-ups.
This is why scanning the stops led to a police response
The user p4755166 shares a story in a reddit post about an encounter with the police that he recently experienced. He was in the city park and just wanted to scan PokéStops in peace. We present the whole story below (via reddit.com).
What did the trainer do? As the reddit user p4755166 explains in his post, he was recently in the city park of his area. There, aside from typical green spaces and park benches, there is also a swimming pool, playgrounds, and soccer fields.
Additionally, Pokémon GO trainers can benefit greatly there, as the park has a total of 13 PokéStops and 4 gyms. This was a reason for p4755166 to explore the park and catch everything he could.
However, this was not enough for the reddit user. His friend pointed out that in Pokémon GO, you can also level up PokéStops to achieve higher drops. p4755166 wanted to try this out and scanned his surroundings for a whole 1.5 hours until he finally took a break and suddenly had trouble with the police.
Why did the police come? After p4755166 sat down on a park bench, suddenly two police cars showed up, and the officers approached him directly. Other park visitors had noticed that he was making some kind of video recordings with his phone and reported it to the police. They wanted to investigate the suspicious behavior.
Was the trainer arrested? According to his own statements, p4755166 explained to the officers his intentions as well as how the function works in Pokémon GO, managing to clarify the situation. The officers eventually let him go with a warning to be more cautious in the vicinity of swimming pools and children when taking pictures in the future.
What is p4755166’s conclusion? He found the entire situation regarding the police very embarrassing, especially since other people saw him during this, and some even recognized him. For instance, his neighbor took a photo of him showing him with the police.
For p4755166, it is clear that he will now focus only on walking and catching. He draws the following conclusion (via reddit.com): “Well, the 2 bonus items and the buddy heart, or whatever, simply aren’t worth it. I’m now the bad guy who had a run-in with the police. I’m sticking to walking and catching, thanks.”
Trainers recommend “Just scan the ground”
What experiences do other trainers report? p4755166’s post has garnered significant support on social media. As of November 17, 2022, at 11:30 AM, he has already received more than 3,500 upvotes and 439 comments.
It quickly becomes clear that other trainers have also experienced uncomfortable situations while scanning PokéStops. You can also read the following on reddit:
- dcchillin46: “I’m around 30 and started walking this summer to get some exercise. I was walking through the local park, which has some gyms, and started to scan one that happened to be a little league baseball field where a game was taking place. 5 minutes later, police cars drove by and stared at me. Good times, you’re not alone. Honestly, scanning is creepy, but I want some free berries.”
- GrizDrummer25: “Scanning PokéStops is pretty uncomfortable. I submitted two reports, and it looks like I’m spying on the stores.”
- Orange-Pete: “Once I was approached by an older lady who accused me of being suspicious in a parking lot. She thought I was taking pictures (of cars?) because I was using two phones to do a raid (my buddy was sick that day and asked me to help), which I can somewhat understand. But it still hurts to be accused like that, especially since I have severe anxiety and Pokémon GO is pretty much the only reason I go outside every day to exercise…”
Can this problem be avoided? In the comments, there are not only many like-minded individuals but also a number of tips on how to avoid such situations. Some players explain that they do not scan the PokéStop or gym itself but point their phone to the ground or cover the camera (via reddit.com):
- lockt-420: “Just scan the ground.”
- IconJBG: “Cover most of your camera with your finger. You don’t even have to move, and the file size stays under 20 MB, so you can upload it in seconds. Plus, you won’t be accused of being creepy.”
- rage1026: “Fortunately, one of my regular spots has a stop close enough to a parking lot. I just sit in the car and wave the phone for a while.”
What has been your experience scanning PokéStops and gyms? Have you also been suspected of doing something illegal? Or have you even had problems with the police because of this? Let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO.
In Pokémon GO, trainers often find themselves in conflict with the law. A 37-year-old trainer was attacked by teenagers while playing Pokémon GO in the park.
