Robert Dziekański taser incident

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Robert Dziekański taser incident
Robert Dziekański minutes before his death, holding a table at the YVR customs gate.
Date: 14 October 2007 Time: 1:28 AM PST[1] Location: Vancouver International Airport, Richmond, British Columbia

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Video of man tasered at Vancouver airport released

Robert Dziekański (April 15, 1967 - October 14, 2007) was a Polish immigrant who arrived at the Vancouver International Airport on 13 October 2007 where he died shortly after being tasered at least twice by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after waiting 10 hours at the airport. He was 40 years old, and spoke no English.

[edit] The incident

Dziekański was a construction worker by trade, in the process of immigrating from Gliwice, Poland to live with his mother, Zofia Cisowski, in Kamloops, British Columbia.^[2] His flight was two hours late and arrived at about 3:15 p.m on October 13, 2007.^[3][4][5] According to official sources, Dziekański required support to complete initial customs formalities, and was observed by Vancouver airport staff to be pale and sweating profusely. After completing initial immigration procedures, Dziekański was referred for secondary immigration processing. His whereabouts between 4:00 p.m. and about 10:45 p.m. are not clear, though at various points he was seen around the baggage carousels.^[6] Dziekański's mother, Mrs. Cisowski, had told him to wait for her at the baggage claim area but it was a secured area where she was not allowed to enter.^[7] At 10:45 p.m., when he sought to leave the customs hall, he was directed again to secondary immigration as it was noted that his immigration visa had not yet been processed.^[3][6] Missing immigration documentation was found in some additional bags that were recovered at about 11:15 p.m.,^[3][6] and Dziekański's immigration procedures were completed at about 12:15 a.m. on October 14th.^[3][6] After sitting in immigration waiting area for an additional 30 minutes, he was told that he was free to leave and taken to the international arrivals reception area.^[6] Mrs. Cisowski had been making enquiries of airport staff since the early afternoon, but could not provide information about the airline, flight number or scheduled arrival time.^[3] Airport staff told her Dziekański was not at the airport and she had left to return to Kamloops at about 10 p.m., believing he had missed his flight.^[7][5]

When Dziekański left the customs hall, he became visibly agitated. Bystanders and airport security guards were unable to communicate with him because he could only speak Polish and they did not use the airport's telephone translation service.^[8] He used chairs to prop open the one-way doors between a customs clearing area and a public lounge and at one point threw a computer and a small table to the floor before the police arrived.^[9]

Four RCMP officers arrived and entered the customs room where Dziekański was waiting. They apparently directed him to stand against a wall, to which Dziekański complied but picked up a stapler while doing so.^[10] Shortly thereafter, about 25 seconds after arriving at the scene, police tasered Dziekański, even though he had calmed down and was standing with his hands at his side. Dziekański began to convulse and was tasered a second time after falling to the ground, where the four officers pinned him down and handcuffed him. One eyewitness, who recorded the incident on her cellphone, told CBC News that Dziekański had been tasered as many as four times. "The third and fourth ones were at the same time" delivered simultaneously by the officer at his right and the officer at his left, just before Dziekański fell down.^[11][9] He writhed and screamed before he stopped moving. The RCMP then checked for a pulse, but his heart had stopped. Dziekański did not receive CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene approximately 15 minutes later. They were unable to revive him and pronounced him dead.^[9]

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Video

14 October 2007: Screenshot from video taken by Paul Pritchard showing Robert Dziekanski shortly after being tasered by RCMP officers at Vancouver airport.

The entire event was recorded by Paul Pritchard, who handed his camera and the video to police. Police told Pritchard that they would return the video within 48 hours. Instead, they returned the camera with a new memory card and kept the original with the video, stating that they would not release it in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation. They claimed that witness statements would be tainted if they viewed the video before being interviewed by police.^[12] Pritchard went to court to obtain the video, which he then released to the media on 14 November 2007.^[13] After the video was made available, an RCMP spokesperson cautioned the public to reserve judgment against the police because the video represents "just one piece of evidence, one person's view."^[9]

Before the video was released to the public, the RCMP repeatedly claimed that only three officers were at the scene. There were actually four officers who arrived at the scene.^[9] The RCMP also said that they did not use pepper spray because of the risk it would have posed to bystanders. The video, however, shows that the incident occurred in a room that was separated from bystanders by a thick glass wall.^[9] An RCMP spokesperson also stated that batons were not used because of how it would look to the public,^[11] which was again proven false by the video.^[14]

[edit] Criticism of the RCMP

Dziekański handcuffed and pinned by RCMP officers.

Police have been heavily criticized for their handling of the incident. A retired Vancouver Police superintendent commented after viewing the video that Dziekański did not appear to be making “any threatening gestures” towards the police and he did not see why it became a police incident.^[9] Particularly contentious is that the RCMP officers made no attempt to defuse or gain control of the situation before resorting to the taser.^[15]

The RCMP's handling of the incident has led to charges that they misrepresented the facts in order to portray the RCMP in a favourable light. The BC Civil Liberties Association has filed a complaint arguing that the evidence shows that the taser was not used as a last resort and condemning the RCMP for its attempt to suppress the video and for casting aspersions on the character of Mr. Dziekanski.^[16] An RCMP spokesman, Sgt. Pierre Lemaitre, was heavily criticized for providing a false version of events prior to the public release of the video. He stated that Dziekański "continued to throw things around and yell and scream", after the arrival of the police officers, which was later revealed to be false in the video.^[17]

[edit] Taser debate

See also: Taser controversy

The incident has revived debate concerning police use of tasers. This was the sixteenth death following the police use of tasers in Canada since 2003, and civil liberties groups have called for a moratorium on tasers until training and procedures can be developed and implemented to minimize the risks.^[18] The human rights group Amnesty International repeated its call for taser use to be suspended until an independent investigation into the medical and other effects has taken place.^[19] Meanwhile, Canada's seventeenth taser-related death occurred less than a week later when Quilem Registre died after being tasered by police in Montreal.^[20]

The police and the manufacturer have claimed that such deaths are the result of pre-existing medical conditions, not the taser jolt. In the Vancouver case, police have suggested that Dziekański died from a condition described by RCMP informally as “excited delirium.”^[11] A statement from TASER International, the company that makes the stun-gun, asserts that Dziekański's death "appears to follow the pattern of many in-custody deaths following a confrontation with the police. Historically, medical science and forensic analysis has shown that these deaths are attributable to other factors and not the low-energy electrical discharge of the Taser."^[21]

Critics, however, point out that "excited delirium" is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and that police overuse such so-called conditions as a matter of convenience.^[22][23] While some psychologists argue that excited delirium is indeed a bona fide but rare condition that can cause sudden death,^[23] experts say that delirium (without the "excited" modifier) is a well-known condition, but that it is usually triggered by factors such as drugs or a pronounced mental or physical illness and that it is extremely rare for those afflicted to suddenly die.^[23] Toxicology tests found no drugs or alcohol in Dziekański's system.^[24] An autopsy by the British Columbia Coroner’s Service did not determine the cause of death, citing no trauma or disease, nor pre-existing medical conditions.^[25]

[edit] Criticism of airport

The airport has also been criticized over the incident, particularly regarding security cameras that were not functioning, no translation services available for communicating with non-English speakers, the airport supervisor's failure to call the airport's own paramedics resulting in a twelve-minute wait for city paramedics to arrive, and for staff not helping Dziekański's mother locate her son.^[26][10]

Airport security has been roundly criticized for not assisting Dziekański during his many hours in the airport. Once he became agitated, security guards made little attempt to communicate with him or de-escalate the situation.^[27]

The Canada Border Services Agency reported it is reviewing its procedures at airports.^[28]

[edit] Political reaction

The incident has had significant coverage in Poland. The Polish consul general has demanded answers about Dziekański’s death.^[25] Canada's ambassador in Poland has been invited to discuss the incident with officials in Warsaw, and one Polish official has stated that "we want the matter clarified and we want those guilty named and punished."^[7]

Stéphane Dion, the Liberal opposition leader, has asked the RCMP to review its taser-use policies.

Canada's Public Safety Minister, Stockwell Day, said that he has asked the RCMP for a review on taser use and that a report is being prepared, and pointed out that several investigations of the incident are already underway. Liberal Public Safety Critic Ujjal Dosanjh said that what was needed was an independent body to conduct a national and public review of the issue in order to develop national guidelines for taser use by law enforcement officers.^[29] BC NDP Public Safety Critic and Port Coquitlam MLA Mike Farnworth called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate the incident, citing concerns of police investigating themselves.^[30]

[edit] Public Inquiry

See also: Braidwood Inquiry

A public inquiry headed by retired B.C. Appeal Court Justice Thomas Braidwood.

Other Investigations being conducted include:

• RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) (Internal Investigation)
• British Columbia Coroner’s Service
• The Minister of Public Safety
• Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security of the House of Commons
• Polish Ministry of Justice Prosecution Service of Gliwice

Investigation completed:

• Canada Border Services Agency (26 November 2007)^[31]
• Vancouver International Airport Authority (7 December 2007)^[32]
• Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (12 December 2007) ^[33]

In addition:^[34]

• A review of Tasers by the government of Nova Scotia in the wake of a death there
• A review of Taser use by police in Manitoba

[edit] Law enforcement response

The response from law enforcement has been mixed. Law enforcement professionals have featured prominently in the media criticizing the RCMP’s handling of the situation and the aftermath.^[7] The Ottawa Police, the first Ontario police force to adopt the taser, held a taser demonstration for reporters in order to illustrate their safety.^[35] Both the Toronto Police and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, meanwhile, have put large orders of tasers for their front-line officers on hold.^[36]

The funeral for Robert Dziekański was held on 17 November 2007 in Kamloops.^[37]

[edit] See also

• Taser controversy
• UCLA Taser incident
• University of Florida Taser incident
• Scandals surrounding the RCMP
• The Braidwood inquiry

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Vancouver Airport - Robert Dziekanski's Taser Death (Full) (Video). YouTube (14 November 2007).
• News report on RCMP's refusal to return video of the incident (Video). YouTube (31 October 2007).
• Vancouver airport authority President and CEO comments on events of October 14, 2007. Vancouver Airport Authority (2 November 2007).
• Chair-initiated public complaint from the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.
• Preliminary Report on the Circumstances of the Death of Robert Dziekanski (pdf). Vancouver Airport Authority (6 December 2007).
• Amnesty International report Canada: Inappropriate and excessive use of taser.
• CBC Television interview with Dziekanski's mother Zofia Cisowski (Video).
• Radio interview with Paul Pritchard on As It Happens (Mp3). CBC.
• "Map of taser-related deaths in Canada", CBC. 
• Bronskill, Jim & Bailey, Sue (2008-03-30), “Dziekanski lay dying after Taser hit as border agent scoured airport for him”, The Calgary Sun, <http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2008/03/30/5146666.html>. Retrieved on 31 March 2008 .