Mounties involved in post-Taser death of Dziekanski to face perjury charges

Vancouver Sun ^ | May 6, 2011 9:56 PM | Andrea Woo

[BerryDingle]

VANCOUVER — The mother of Robert Dziekanski, the Polish immigrant who died after being Tasered multiple times by RCMP officers at Vancouver International Airport, said Friday she's "pleased" that the officers involved will face perjury charges. "The RCMP should not be investigating itself," she added. "Police officers are not above the law and I will await the verdict of the courts. I hope that justice will finally be achieved in the death of my son." Dziekanski, who spoke no English and had never been on a plane before, was unable to find his mother upon arriving at the airport. He remained in a secure customs area for nearly 11 hours and then, appearing dazed and delirious, began throwing around furniture, prompting the 911 call.

[BerryDingle]

This man was locked inside a counter area of an airport for 11 hours without any idea why, nor does it appear anyone offered any kind of assistance such as a phone call, water or food.

[BerryDingle]

Screen shots from a video shows Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski being Tasered by police at the Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14, 2007. Photograph by: Paul Pritchard, Handout

[Revolting cat!]

I sympathize with the victims and their mothers, but allow me to observe that the world has gotten too small, thanks to cheap travel and the near elimination of borders, while the governments, their policies and procedures have not kept up. This man, uneducated, as he was, faced gummint officials of the low order, uneducated themselves, except in the use of lethal weapons (Hurray?) Stupidity on both sides.

[maine-iac7]

He's locked in a holding room for 11 hours - not knowing why. He can't speak English and in 11 ours no one made an attempt to find a translator.

He has NO idea what's going to happen to him.

After 11 hours - no food or even water, and evidently just being left there hour after hour with NO communication - the photos look like he's merely trying to get someones attention. He doesn't appear to be wildly throwing furniture around.

and after 11 hours - they call the cops who “responding to a report of a violent drunk, repeatedly shocked him with an electronic stun gun as he writhed in pain.”

How can he be drunk after 11 hours in a holding room?

What a terrible tragedy. And they are charged only with perjury????

[BerryDingle]

It’s not like there’s a “shortage” of Polish translators in Canada. Canada has some of the largest Polish settlements outside of Poland, in the world.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

I remember this story. The sheer incompetence of the Canadian airport authorities and the cops was astounding.

[blueplum]

tazers are cattle prods on steroids

use of cattle prods on humans was illegal before tazers were invented to circumvent the law

tazers should be illegal to use except to disarm someone with a knife, as was represented as their use in the first place

imo jmo moo