Do Not Trespass On Police Property In Search Of Pokemon Characters: Pflugerville PD

Pflugerville, TX -- Police on Monday issued a warning to people playing that new app game Pokemon Go: Don't enter upon private property as you set outdoors to find the imaginary creatures in the popular game.

"Although the new Pokemon Go game has become extremely popular, please be respectful of private property and do not enter secure premises, such as the Pflugerville Police Department, to catch them all," police asked in their social media forums. "As always, be careful, remember to look both ways before crossing the street, and keep your eyes on the road while driving."

Police told the Pflugervile Pflag newspaper they were prompted to issue the warning after several grownups -- yes, grownups, playing a game consisting of catching make-believe characters -- were observed around the water tower near police headquarters. The players seemed to be looking for a way around an eight-foot, chain-link fence in their desperate bid to "catch" the phantom Pokemon creatures.

In reaction to the Pflugerville PD's post -- more specifically, their need to even have to convey the missive -- some residents expressed their own views on this new Pokemon craze.

"Oh great," Tracy Kazin began. "This stupid new app will cause even more distracted pedestrians and drivers, as well as trespassing. SMH."

(For the uninitiated, SMH means "shaking my head" as in disbelief or disdain in computer speak.)

"Just don't do it!" Jenn Schmidt wrote, tagging another person who's presumably playing the game. "Hahaha!" responded the object of her admonition. "I just wander the neighborhood and the nearby parks," he added in assuaging her concerns.

Others didn't seem too fazed by the police officers' warnings: "Wow! My kids are laughing so hard," wrote one mom. Another person simply wrote: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" (that's verbatim).

The police were good sports about the whole thing -- up to a point. Responding to one person's post in reference to the game, they wrote: "You caught us!" in a bit of fun. But in the next breath (or sentence), they added: "In all seriousness though, we are a secured location and entering nonpublic areas is prohibited."

Still, some were unmoved. "I can see it already: 'No your honor, I wasn't breaking and entering, I was Pokemon-ing,' " wrote Rudy Hinojosa. Others took a more existential, philosophical view: "The electronic "dumbing" of humanity continues," opined Daniel Carvajal.

As it relates to this newfangled app game that has people descending in a modern twist to a scavenger hunt, one thing is for sure. Perhaps never has the phrase "You kids get off my lawn!" been more suitable to utter among those in the curmudgeonly set.

Read the full story at Pflugerville Pflag >>