Los Angeles police officers Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell were recorded dismissing a call to assist with the robbery while boasting of catching rare Pokémon in the mobile game.

The pair failed to persuade an appeals court in California that the use of recordings from their police car’s built-in system violated the law, Ars Technica reports.

The officers had claimed to their supervisor that they did not hear the call for backup during the robbery, but the recording captured them discussing whether or not to respond.

Mr Mitchell was recorded telling his colleague that he didn’t want their bosses “to think we’re not paying attention to the radio”, to which Mr Lozano replied: “Aw, screw it.”

After driving around to catch a Snorlax and a Togetic, Mr Mitchell was recorded saying: “Holy crap. Finally […] The guys are going to be so jealous.”