Apparently, police in south Alberta weren't aware that May 4th is celebrated by "Star Wars" fans worldwide as "May the Fourth be with You Day." Nor were they aware that Lethbridge restaurant Coco Vanilla Galactic was hosting a "Star Wars"-themed event. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have tackled an employee who was wearing a stormtrooper costume and carrying a plastic gun.
"All the signs say ‘Star Wars,'" says Brad Whalen, the restaurant's owner. "The music that was playing in the parking lot was 'Star Wars.' If a duck’s a duck, it’s a duck, right? It should have been common sense and it should have stopped there." But it didn't. Officers claim they tackled the employee, giving her a bloody nose, only after she refused to obey their orders to drop to the ground.
But Whalen blames the apparent lack of cooperation on the costume. "It’s not the easiest thing to kneel down in," he says. "You can’t even sit down in it. It takes 20 minutes to put on." Apparently, Police Chief Scott Woods agrees with Whalen. After reviewing video of the incident, he's directed internal affairs to launch an investigation into the officers' conduct, he says.
Watch the arrest happen here: