No charges in takedown of teen in Star Wars costume
No criminal charges will be laid following an external investigation into the Lethbridge Police Service takedown of a teenager dressed as a Star Wars character in May.
The investigation by the Medicine Hat Police Service was called after police drew their weapons and handcuffed a 19-year-old woman working at Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina, a Star Wars-themed restaurant in Lethbridge.
The teen was dressed as a stormtrooper and carrying a toy gun, part of a promotion for Star Wars Day on May 4 — a pun on the famous film franchise line, “May the force be with you.”
The woman suffered a minor injury from the police response, according to Lethbridge police.
The investigation was reviewed by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, and found criminal charges were not warranted, according to a news release from Lethbridge police Wednesday.
Lethbridge police will now begin an internal professional conduct investigation into the takedown.
A video of the encounter went viral worldwide, with police drawing criticism from many for their handling of the situation.
Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina owner Bradley Whalen told Postmedia on Wednesday that he wasn't surprised by the results of the investigation.
He said he had problems with the process of a nearby jurisdiction's police force taking up the investigation, with ASIRT'S involvement limited to ensuring the investigation was conducted independently and objectively.
“It was pretty much a joke,” Whalen said. “We know that they know that they did wrong.”
Whalen said he talked with Medicine Hat investigators once, and said neither he nor the employee had received any contact or apology from Lethbridge police.
He questioned why the investigation took more than half a year, with the outcome released days before Christmas.
“I didn't expect anything else. I don't know why it took so long. It's just to make people wait and forget, I guess,” Whalen said. “They didn't want anybody asking questions and they didn't want anyone to be available for comment this afternoon.”