Police takedown of woman in stormtrooper costume won’t result in criminal charges
The incident, which went viral internationally, was investigated by an external police force.
And…
An outside force says no criminal charges are warranted in relation to the handcuffing of a woman in a stormtrooper costume outside a Star Wars-themed business in Lethbridge, Alta., last May.
But Lethbridge police are still facing criticism for how the initial incident was handled — and some are calling for the full results of the outside investigation to be released.
On May 4 — referred to as Star Wars Day by franchise fans — Lethbridge police officers responded to two 911 calls reporting a person in a Star Wars stormtrooper costume was carrying a firearm on 13th Street North in the southern Alberta city.
Inside the costume was a 19-year-old employee of a space-themed restaurant nearby, dubbed the Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina.
Holding a plastic toy gun, the woman was on assignment, waving at pedestrians and suggesting they visit the restaurant to try specials like the Yoda Soda.
That’s when police arrived. What transpired was caught on video and went viral, making both national and international news.
And it sure did.
I can’t find the original thread here on G&G.
After police arrived, the young woman dropped the toy weapon, but police said she didn’t initially comply with their direction to get on the ground.
With weapons drawn, police forced the woman to the ground and removed her helmet. That caused the woman to suffer a bloody nose, bruising and scratching, the woman’s boss previously told CBC News.
The woman was handcuffed and later released. No charges were laid.
A witness on scene captured the interaction, including the woman sobbing. The video went viral and prompted outrage, including from William Shatner, famed as Captain Kirk on Star Trek, who called for an investigation.
“Rifles drawn for a plastic toy Cosplayer? Didn’t comply right away? Are you blind Chief? Watch the video to see how quickly she complied,” the actor said on Twitter. “This cannot be covered up.”
As for explained back in May, the ability to hear while wearing the Stormtrooper helmet is not good. And because of the “armour”, getting down onto the ground is not something one can do in seconds.
On Wednesday, Lethbridge police said in a release the investigation, which included a review by ASIRT and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, had concluded and recommended no criminal charges against the officers.
No additional information about the investigation was provided, and inquiries from CBC News requesting more information were not immediately returned.
Lethbridge police said a professional misconduct investigation will now proceed under the Police Act and Police Service Regulation.
Only now? Why was not such an investigation happened starting days AFTER the incident? ! ?
Bradley Whalen, owner of Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina, was inside the shop when the incident took place. He went outside and said he watched as the restaurant employee was forced to the ground in her costume.
He said he wasn’t surprised with the outcome of the investigation, given how things have unfolded so far.
“It’s a shame that they wasted all this time,” Whalen said. “Medicine Hat [police] didn’t even have the courtesy yesterday to call me and let me know that the findings were going to be released today.”
Whalen said there was never much communication between police and the business, adding no one from police had reached out to him to apologize.
“They know what they did was not proper and not right,” he said.
And what of the morons who called 911?
Mount Royal University justice professor Kelly Sundberg said now that no criminal charges are pending, the interests and well-being of the young woman involved should come first.
“We all make mistakes, professionally and in life, and I think that these officers have probably learned their lesson through the process,” Sundberg said.
“But [they need] to ensure that young woman is OK from that very traumatic incident. If that hasn’t happened, that’s a separate issue.”
Lethbridge police did not immediately respond to a request for comment around whether they had reached out to support the woman involved.
What? That should have been giving right from the start?
.
