'Are you blind, Chief?': Star Trek's William Shatner rips police for tackling woman dressed as Stormtrooper

Any Star Trek fan will be quick to differentiate the series from Star Wars, but sometimes there’s a common enemy that takes precedence.

William Shatner, who is most famous for playing Captain Kirk throughout the Star Trek franchise, ripped into the Lethbridge Police Service, for taking down a woman dressed in a Stormtrooper costume on Monday.

A 19-year-old restaurant worker was outside of the Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina in Lethbridge, Alta. while in costume, trying to get the attention of potential customers, when police stopped her, pulled out their weapons, and forced her to the ground. In the Star Wars universe, Stormtroopers serve as soldiers for the Galactic empire, and as part of the costume, the woman was toting a plastic gun.

After facing public backlash, largely for not being able to discern that the gun in question was clearly a toy, the officers involved in the incident are now being investigated.

May 4 is celebrated as Star Wars Day by some, a play on the phrase “May the force be with you” popularized by the franchise.

Here is a video of the incident:

Brad Whalen, owner of the Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina was blown away by Shatner’s advocacy.

“To me, it’s just wow. To have somebody like that throwing his support our way and standing up for our employee and restaurant is amazing," Whalen told CTV News.

Shatner also took issue with the department’s history of carrying out injustice after looking into the incident further.

Although Shatner’s high-profile status adds another layer of attention to the incident, many people have been quick to condemn the Lethbridge Police on social media.

What do you think of the police’s reaction to the teenaged Stormtrooper? Vote in the poll above and be sure to leave a comment below.