| Our little website could hardly even begin to chronicle the hundreds of wrongful deaths at the hands of the RCMP, or police in general, but we can highlight particular cases that illustrate a systemic lack of professionalism and concern for public safety, and/or rule of law. Therefore we can present the following video evidence, and you are the sole determiner of facts. You don't have to receive this unbiased info through a biased and self-serving RCMP fact filter - YOU are the decider. What this video [Dziekanski video] will show is that a man who made no threatening jester toward the police was brutally tasered then choked [with a sustained knee to the neck] to unconsciousness and death, even as he was convulsing from the shock of the taser. What you are witnessing is an assault WITH A WEAPON that lead to death. This is an aggravated assault leading to death (manslaughter to be precise), and these officers MUST be held to the SAME standard of law that you or I would face. This is our moral, civic and legal duty as protectors of the Constitution and common law of the land. [As an interesting footnote, the Vancouver Police Department [on the very day that this video was released] announced their intentions to INCREASE their supply of tasers by 70] Legal definition for what occurred..
____________ Video shows police using Taser on man shortly after approaching him -
CanWest News Service, November 14, 2007
Critics see Mountie contradictions in Taser video - Nov 15/2007 Man who shot film gives his firsthand account of what he saw..
Content of tasering video highlighted by CTV news indicate RCMP engaged in aggravated assault, and took no action [CPR] to revive their victim after they knew he was "code red" and dying before their eyes. So we can also add the charge of gross negligence causing death. Why haven't these "peace officers" been criminally charged with aggravated assault and/or manslaughter? They are still on active duty!
Warning: below video contains disturbing images of RCMP killing... Experts in use of taser say RCMP's use of force NOT warranted! Taser victim's mom faults RCMP CTV viewers express public outrage at RCMP
RCMP lies exposed for all the country to see.... Its their policy to lie to you, and it shows.
A sample of public reaction.... A hopeful sign of passionate indignation and contempt for those we at first trusted to help us keep the peace.... Now the public has awoken to the reality that they (our so-called "peace officers") are far worse than the disease. Fortunately, as well, the public can now look to other means of keeping society safer, and take back their right to defend themselves within the law - something the police don't seem able to understand. The thing I find most shocking was my 15-year-old daughter's comment after seeing it on the news. She said she felt Canada is turning into the U.S., and that she no longer wants to be Canadian. Are we as Canadians losing what it is to be a Canadian and adopting the no-tolerance policies of the U.S.? If so, perhaps I don't want to be Canadian either. - letter to editor. B.C. Mounties face growing public outrage - Nov 19/2007 VANCOUVER — A wave of public anger about the death of Robert Dziekanski is washing over the RCMP in the Lower Mainland, with upset Canadians berating officers at the airport and at the nearby Richmond detachment – and even throwing eggs at one police cruiser. Taser victims often unarmed, data indicate - Nov 19/2007 OTTAWA — Three out of four suspects tasered by the RCMP were unarmed, indicates a review of 563 cases that shows tasers are often used for compliance rather than to defuse major threats. A Canadian Press analysis of taser incidents reported by the Mounties found that more than 79 per cent of those zapped were not brandishing a weapon. In just over one-fifth of cases, the suspect had a knife, bottle, club or other weapon
Inquiry into airport death to look at Taser use by B.C. police only - CBC News, February 19, 2008
Tasers now give ex-premier doubts - May 13/08
Even national cartoons took jabs at the now disgraced police force.
Published Nov 24, 2007 - credit I.Rice
Not that any of this much deserved publicity seemed to change their program of oppression on the rights and liberty of free men and women in Canada.... They just used it to set up a big brother program that they can better control.
Border services uses death of Robert Dziekanski to increase police state big brother program.
More airport security needed, says CBSA - Nov 26/2007 The Canada Border Services Agency will beef up patrols and have more security checks and cameras at Vancouver's airport, says a report released Monday that gives a timeline of the night Robert Dziekanski died after he was shocked with an RCMP Taser on Oct. 14. [full report]
RCMP under scrutiny for hiding Taser details - March 26/08 Paul Kennedy, the head of the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP, said the organization should be providing more information, not less, because of the immense public interest and debate over Taser use by the RCMP and other police forces. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day asked the commission to look into RCMP Taser use and protocols after an incident involving Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died last year after being tasered by police at Vancouver International Airport. "The police provide a public service on behalf of citizens," said Kennedy. "To that extent, they ought to be accountable to citizens as much as possible. You cannot have accountability without information." The information missing from documents obtained by media outlets includes who was tasered, and whether they were armed or warned before being tasered, as well as resulting injuries and the duration of the shocks. Kennedy said documents such as the Taser incident reports, which were obtained through the Access to Information Act, can be censored by governing bodies if they feel the information could compromise operational effectiveness and ongoing investigations, but in this case it is not necessary. "They're not exactly mandatory exemptions, the government institution itself has an ability to actually let more out if it wanted to, so there is a discretion to be exercised," he said. "How was that discretion exercised?" Kennedy said it is incumbent upon government organizations to constructively engage in discussion with the public, including the media, so there can be proper debate of Taser use. The stripping of details comes in the wake of reports that incidents involving Taser use by law enforcement are on the rise. Liberal public safety critic Ujjal Dosanjh said the RCMP's reasons for the censoring of information are "unacceptable." Tasered man was 'cooperative' - March 28/08 Polish immigrant who died at Vancouver International Airport showed no signs of aggression, border officers report
However, the 12 pages of statements provide, for the first time, first-hand accounts of Dziekanski's demeanour from those who dealt with him in the moments before his death. In response to The Sun's request, the CBSA also released surveillance footage that shows Dziekanski wandering around the customs and baggage-claim hall, where he spent more than six hours without being noticed by anyone from the CBSA. Dziekanski's flight arrived in Vancouver at 3:20 p.m. on Oct. 13. At about 4:05 p.m., Dziekanski was cleared through passport control and, because he had an immigrant visa, was referred on to the immigration inspection area. However, Dziekanski didn't go directly to immigration and spent the next six hours wandering around the baggage-claim hall. During that time, at about 7 p.m., CBSA officer T. Zadravec received a call from Dziekanski's stepfather, who said he and Dziekanski's mother had been waiting for him for five hours. Zadravec wrote in his statement that he looked around the immigration area but couldn't find anyone who fit Dziekanski's description. Dziekanski's stepfather then told Zadravec that they would be going home to Kamloops. Zadravec confirmed with the man that Dziekanski had his mother's cellphone number and then hung up. At about 10:35 p.m., Dziekanski tried to exit the customs hall. "The male continuously attempted to try to communicate in what appeared to be Polish to me and seemed frustrated at the fact I was unable to understand him," wrote CBSA officer K. Bharya, who dealt with Dziekanski when he tried to exit. "The male did make mention of something about Kamloops and his mother, but those were the only words I understood." Along with another officer, Bharya escorted Dziekanski to the immigration area. CBSA Acting Superintendent Alex Currie, who was there when Dziekanski arrived, wrote that he "appeared 'groggy,' which is not uncommon after a long flight ... but he did not appear to have any medical issues and was cooperative with me." Currie stated that Dziekanski was given water five or six times. She wrote that Dziekanski, while visibly tired, "did not display any signs of erratic or aggressive behaviour." And she stated that, over all, she was satisfied that the officers who dealt with him "exhibited professionalism, courtesy and excellent client services." Dziekanski was interviewed by CBSA officer Juliette van Agteren. "The passenger was visibly fatigued and somewhat dishevelled showing some impatience consistent with behaviour displayed after a long flight and frustrations due to lack of English skills," van Agteren wrote in her report, though adding: "At no time did he display any signs of behaviour that would be cause for concern." As Dziekanski was being interviewed, Zadravec told van Agteren about the call he had received earlier from Dziekanski's relatives and informed her that they had probably gone back to Kamloops by now. Van Agteren left a message for Dziekanski's mother at a phone number he provided. She then went out to the reception area to see if his relatives were still at the airport, but wasn't able to find them. Because of Dziekanski's language difficulties, CBSA officer Adam Chapin, who speaks some Polish, was asked to assist van Agteren with the interview. "The client appeared dishevelled, his hair was uncombed and his shirt was untucked," Chapin wrote in his statement. After assisting with Dziekanski's interview, Chapin went on to deal with other passengers. Later, after noticing Dziekanski was still sitting in immigration, Chapin told him he could go, and escorted him to the exit. "Upon exiting the immigration [area] the subject did stumble at one point but was able to steady himself with the cart," Chapin wrote. "The subject walked the rest of the way ... without difficulty." As Chapin walked Dziekanski to the exit at 12:45 a.m., he wrote, "I wished the subject goodnight and he wished me goodnight and said thank you (in Polish)." During his time dealing with Dziekanski, Chapin wrote, he did not exhibit any "hostile or angry" behaviour. Just minutes after exiting customs, Dziekanski began behaving erratically - walking back into a secure area that connects customs with the public reception area, pacing and throwing items against a glass wall. RCMP officers were soon called to the scene, where they shot Dziekanski with a Taser and restrained him on the ground. He died shortly after. At 2:10 a.m., Chapin wrote, he got a call from Dziekanski's mother, inquiring about her son. "I told her I was about to leave work and that I would look for him on my way out," wrote Chapin. "I told her that if I did find him I would bring him to the immigration office so that he could call her back. I took her name and phone number." Chapin walked out into the public area of the airport and began looking for Dziekanski, but could not see him anywhere. He then walked outside, where he came across an RCMP officer. He asked the officer if he had seen a Polish man. "I told him I was trying to pass on a message," wrote Chapin. "The RCMP officer then took me inside to get some details. It is at this point that I observed [Dziekanski] on the floor by the visitors' booth being attended to by paramedics. About 30 seconds later they pronounced his death." When the CBSA released its report in November, president Alain Jolicoeur apologized for the agency not finding Dziekanski during the six hours he spent wandering around customs. "I'm very, very sorry and I really wish we would have found out about Mr. Dziekanski before, but it's a difficult thing to do," he said, noting the area is the size of two football fields. CBSA spokesman Faith St. John said the agency has since made several changes to its procedures, including:
- Updating its list of officers who can speak languages other than English or French. - Increasing patrols and security checks in the customs hall. - Purchasing more surveillance cameras. cskelton@png.canwest.com Video: Chad Skelton narrates the surveillance footage Multimedia: Special flash and video presentation Related: RCMP under scrutiny for censoring Taser incident reports Archive gallery: Dziekanski's memorial and mother Archive: Reports differ on whether Dziekanski had pulse, was breathing Archive: Taser victim's Polish widow speaks exclusively Chad Skelton's blog: The Paper Trail Archive: Four 'Taser incident' officers reassigned The same tricks... different group of thieves, liars and terrorists.
Surveillance footage vanishes - Chad Skelton Canwest News Service, April 11, 2008
Several hours of surveillance footage recorded at Vancouver airport the night Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski was tasered and died were inadvertently erased by the Canada Border Services Agency a week after his death. The mistake is revealed in a series of internal Border Services e-mails on the Dziekanski matter released to Canwest News Service in response to an access-to-information request. [A mistake? How many homicides do they get in a week at the Border Services? Are you actually buying this stuff?] Dziekanski was tasered by the RCMP early on Oct. 14, 2007, after he began behaving erratically in a secure area of the airport, and died shortly after. However, before Dziekanski's interaction with the Mounties, he spent more than six hours in the airport's customs and baggage-claim hall without being noticed by anyone from Border Services. After Dziekanski's death, a Border Services officer reviewed all the agency's surveillance footage from that night to see what Dziekanski did for several hours in the customs hall. That review found Dziekanski was picked up by Border Services cameras only about a dozen times, and just for a few minutes each time. The officer who reviewed the footage copied all the clips he found of Dziekanski onto a video disk. However, weeks later, Border Services decided it should take another look at all the footage to make sure it didn't miss anything. After the request, Binder Kooner, head of Border Services passenger operations at the airport, explained in an e-mail to Border Services administration that there had been confusion over how long the footage would be stored before being erased. [Folks if you erase evidence in a criminal matter, you are guilty of obstruction of justice.... This is not an accident... They knew this tape was special, and needed to be preserved... More than likely it was erased at the request of the RCMP. These are the same guys that erased tapes in the Air India bombing, remember?] "I'm advised that footage was originally available for 16 days but due to subsequent modifications to the surveillance system, the footage is now only available for seven days, after which it automatically erases," Kooner wrote. [You gotta hand it to them for their 'rolodex' of excuses, though, don't ya? In the Air India case, they blamed it on a lack of training of new recruits - probably so they could bilk the taxpayers for more funding.] The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, which is investigating Dziekanski's death, said yesterday it wasn't aware the original Border Services footage had been erased. [The original footage SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THEIR CUSTODY! ] However, IHIT spokesman Cpl. Dale Carr said the team is not worried because one of its investigators reviewed the complete footage before it was erased and was confident all clips of Dziekanski are on the DVD. [Ah, there it is... Now they have been able to cherry pick through the original tape, they can destroy the original, removing any key piece of evidence. Old trick folks.... Just ask yourself if you think it logical they wouldn't keep the original? We'll let you figure the rest out.] Border Services spokesman Derek Mellon refused to comment this week on why the agency didn't take steps to preserve the original footage or how confident it is that no shots of Dziekanski were missed. Meanwhile, other e-mails obtained through the access-to-information request show senior B.C. officials with Border Services were frustrated with an edict from Ottawa last fall banning them from speaking to the media about Dziekanski's death. The e-mails show that local Border Services staff were banned from answering even general questions from reporters -- such as whether translation services were available at the airport -- and ordered them to refer all media calls to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day's office. The e-mails reveal Border Services staff were frustrated by the gag order, in part because they believed they did their best to help Dziekanski, including offering him water and finding a Polish-speaking officer to assist him. Polish immigrant slept, was 'compliant' before Tasering: witness - Suzanne Fournier, Canwest News Service, January 26, 2009 Alexandra Currie, acting superintendent for the Canada Border Services Agency, told the Braidwood Taser Inquiry Monday that when she saw Mr. Dziekanski after 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2007, she knew his flight had landed at 4 p.m., that he was entering as a landed immigrant, didn't speak English "and had been in the airport a number of hours." Although it was "unusual" for a traveller to stay that long, Ms. Currie said Mr. Dziekanski did not appear distraught. "There was nothing unusual," she said. "He appeared calm, co-operative and he was attempting to respond . . . he made eye contact directly with myself and the other officers," said Ms. Currie. The inquiry also heard for the first time that Mr. Dziekanski may have been sleeping during a five-hour "gap" in his time at the airport. "I asked him if he had been sleeping and he nodded," Ms. Currie said, with a gesture of folded hands beside her cheek. However, Ms. Currie admitted that none of the dozens of CBSA airport greeters reported seeing Mr. Dziekanski sleeping. He left two checked bags unclaimed for hours. Mr. Dziekanski, a nervous traveller who had completed a 24-hour journey from Poland, never managed to exit the Vancouver airport, although he remained "compliant" until the last few minutes of his life. Four RCMP officers who were called after Mr. Dziekanski grew irate in the public area of the airport, responded about 1:25 a.m. and within seconds, Tasered him three times. He fell screaming to the floor where the Taser was used in "push stun mode" twice more, then Cpl. Benjamin Robinson restrained him with a knee in the back. Mr. Dziekanski died on the airport floor within minutes of the Mounties' arrival, without ever seeing his mother Zofia Cisowski, who had waited for hours before being told by airport and immigration officials to go home. The four RCMP officers will testify at the inquiry but will not be charged. [Read full report] Witness "can't believe the way RCMP acted" toward Dziekanski...
Taser death of immigrant was just - says police investigation
Global TV reports (below video) constable involved in taser death of Robert Dziekanski has claimed yet another life. This time his negligent disregard for life involves drinking and driving, and leaving the scene of the accident. |
