A Pokemon Go enthusiast slammed into a Baltimore police car while playing the game on his phone early Monday morning, according to authorities.
In body-camera video released by the Baltimore Police Department , several officers are seen standing near a police car as a Toyota Rav 4 slams into the cruiser and continues driving.
In the video, an officer runs after the vehicle, which stops near the end of the block, and the driver gets out of his car.
The officer asks if everyone is OK, and the driver, whose face is blurred in the clip, shows the police officers his cellphone.
“That’s what I get for playing this dumb--- game,” the man says to the officers.
#PokemonGO is not all fun and games. Here is a video of a distracted driver who struck one of our cars. #PlaySafe
Pokemon Go has become a summer phenomenon, a game played on smartphones in which characters are projected on the screen amid the player's actual surroundings. The goal of the game is to capture the animated figures. Unlike past app-based games, Pokemon Go is being credited with coaxing kids and adults to exercise by getting them outside to play. But it also has landed players in hot water.
During a Tuesday press conference, Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith said the police car run-in wasn't the first Pokemon Go incident in Baltimore this week.
He said multiple people had their phones stolen while playing the game in two separate incidents earlier this week.
"Way too many people have their heads buried in their phones trying to catch a Pokemon, and the criminals are catching them,” Smith said.
He noted that no one was injured when the Pokemon Go player crashed into the police car, but he said people should be aware that playing the game while driving is dangerous.
"This is no different than texting and driving, changing a CD, putting on makeup or eating a sandwich," he said. "You have to pay attention while driving."
Follow @MaryBowerman on Twitter.
Contributing: Kimiya Manoochehri
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