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

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.

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.

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*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.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

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]