Police social media 'Star Wars' joke fails on so many levels

Jerico Mandybur
Updated
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f238369%2ffinal-jawa
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f238369%2ffinal-jawa

We've said it before and we'll say it again — police on social media have zero chill.  

While cops in Queensland usually take the cake for the most over-the-top social media "jokes" in Australia, on Thursday the New South Wales (NSW) force tried their hand at humor. And wow, they screwed it up. 

SEE ALSO: How the Queensland Police used Nickelback to win Facebook friends

A Star Wars-themed coffee shop called The Empire Coffee Co. met up with some members of a police squad at a festival in Lake Maquarie, and presumably, both parties thought, "You know what would make a great photo op? A cop arrested a kneeling an Indigenous Jawa wearing a hood, while some stormtroopers keep watch in the background! It'll be hilarious!" 

Wrong.

Thanks to @nswpolice for allowing us to take this shot at the Living Smart Festival. And paying it on their Facebook page with over 660,000 likes. For the record, no Jawas were harmed in the making of this shot. No taxpayers funds were used. Except for the 2 minutes involved doing the shot while the officer was on duty. Which was to talk to members of the public anyway.

A photo posted by The Empire Coffee Co (@theempirecoffeeco) on Oct 5, 2016 at 4:58pm PDT

*Sigh* couple of things:  

1. Stormtroopers are the bad guys. That makes you the bad guys, police. Jawas on the other hand are passive and neutral. 

2. The police were clearly unaware of point #1 when they posted the image to their Facebook with the caption, "Keeping you safe from the dark side of the force."  

3. Police brutality is as much of a hotly-discussed issue in Australia as it is in the U.S., especially when it comes young Indigenous people. 

Not to mention the "torture" of juvenile Indigenous youths in detention — immortalised by an image of a young man strapped to his chair with a hood over his head that made worldwide news in July of this year. 

After receiving a barrage of negative comments about the picture, police later updated their image caption to read, "Keeping NSW & the galaxy safe. This little guy was arrested for selling stolen goods." 

Oh, that's much better. Totally solves the problem. 

Image: Facebook/NSW Police

Do Australian police have too much time on their hands? Are they public protectors or merry pranksters? Make up your mind, police. Choose, you must. Be a candle, or the night.

[H/T Junkee]