Lethbridge police say no criminal charges are warranted against the officers involved in the Stormtrooper incident in the spring that saw a woman dressed as the popular Star Wars character arrested and minorly injured.
The incident involved a 19-year-old woman dressed in a Stormtrooper costume on May 4 of this year — also known as “Star Wars Day” — outside of the Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina, where she worked.
Lethbridge police said officers responded to two 911 calls reporting a person in the costume carrying a firearm.
The costumed employee was arrested and as police were handcuffing her on the ground, the young female sustained a bloody nose.
The weapon was ultimately confirmed to be fake, and the woman, who told officers she was an employee promoting a local business, was not charged.
The following day, the police service said it was doing its own investigation, however a few days later announced it had asked the Medicine Hat Police Service to take over.
The Lethbridge Police Service say the external investigation by Medicine Hat Police Service — which included a review by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service — has determined that criminal charges are not warranted.
Global News has reached out to ASIRT for a comment, this story will be updated once a response is received. The Medicine Hat Police Service said it didn’t have any further comments to add at this time.
LPS said a professional misconduct investigation into the officers’ actions will proceed under the Police Act and Police Service Regulation. Since the matter is still under investigation, LPS didn’t have any further comment.
— With files from Global News’ Danica Ferris
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