Lethbridge police are being investigated by an outside force after handcuffing a woman in a stormtrooper costume outside a Star Wars-themed business earlier this week.
But still the Lethbridge Police Service faces accusations that not enough is being done to investigate what happened.
On May 4, the 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 an employee of a nearby space-themed restaurant, the Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina.
- WATCH | Police confront the stormtrooper in the excerpt of this video posted on YouTube by Deiby Corleoni above.
The 19-year-old was carrying a plastic toy gun for her assignment of waving at people and encouraging them to visit the establishment for themed specials, like Yoda Soda.
The business was holding a May the fourth promotion, a reference to the Star Wars day that's a pun on the movie franchise's expression "May the force be with you."
On Friday, Lethbridge police announced they were handing over an internal service investigation to be handled by the nearby Medicine Hat Police Service.
"LPS is committed to ensuring transparency in this matter and once the independent investigation has been completed and reviewed, a public update will be provided."
Plastic gun, boss present
The takedown gained notoriety this week after a witness caught the interaction — including the woman sobbing — on a video that went viral and prompted outrage from fans of the movie franchise.
William Shatner, famed as Captain Kirk on Star Trek, weighed in to call 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."
