VANCOUVER, B.C. – Dziekanski would still be alive if not for RCMP confrontation: said a pathologist. Robert Dziekanski would likely still be alive if he hadn’t been stunned multiple times with a Taser and restrained on the floor of Vancouver’s airport by four RCMP officers, said an expert pathologist. Dr. John Butt, who has served as chief medical examiner in Alberta and Nova Scotia, told a public inquiry into Dziekanski’s death that the stress of the confrontation – including the use of the Taser – likely caused the Polish man’s heart to stop. He said it was a death that could have been avoided. “Is it fair to say that, in your opinion, had Mr. Dziekanski not been Tasered, not been restrained on the floor, that he would still be alive today?” asked Walter Kosteckyj, the lawyer for Dziekanski’s mother. “I suspect that, yes,” Butt replied during his testimony Wednesday. “Is that a strong opinion?” asked Kosteckyj. “Yes,” replied Butt. he said he could find no evidence that Dziekanski’s heart was damaged due to chronic alcoholism. That’s a contributing factor listed in the autopsy report. Butt said . “I don’t think there is alcoholic heart disease so I don’t think that it has any role (in Dziekanski’s death).” A lawyer for the federal government told the inquiry Dziekanski may have been on heart medication, however Butt said there was no indication of that in his medical records, including from a mandatory health exam required to immigrate to Canada. Butt, who worked on a report about Tasers for the B.C. Police Complaints Commission four years ago, said he was also concerned the autopsy report barely mentions the fact that Dziekanski was stunned with a Taser. Dr. Charles Lee, who conducted the autopsy, told the inquiry earlier in the week that the Taser may have contributed to Dziekanski’s death. But his report makes one mention of the weapon, only to explain marks on Dziekanski’s body. “I don’t see how one could possibly not mention the Taser in the commentary in this case,” said Butt. “Whether or not that’s going to say that it’s hugely relevant to the cause of death, it’s enormously relevant to the events in this case.” Lee has told the inquiry that while he knew Dziekanski had been shocked by a Taser, he was not aware he was shocked multiple times.
The RCMP made a mistake by waiting 14 months before correcting misinformation about a fatal incident involving four Mounties at Vancouver’s airport, a media relations officer said Wednesday at the Braidwood inquiry. Cpl. Dale Carr told the inquiry, which is probing the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport after he was Tasered five times at about 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2007. that the misinformation initially put out by the RCMP could have compromised the investigation http://www.vancouversun.com/News/Mountie+admits+RCMP+conveyed+misinformation/1525511/story.html
This was no mistake, this was an unacceptable blatant lie where real, serious punishment should be applied to all the RCMP personnel involved.
The inquiry heard last month that in the first two days after Dziekanski died on Oct. 14, 2007, the RCMP’s public statements on the incident contained false information about how many officers were involved, how many times Dziekanski was stunned and what state Dziekanski was in when approached by officers.
Inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood ruled that Supt. Wayne Rideout could only address his decisions about what RCMP media spokespeople had told the public following Dziekanski’s death — despite a request by the lawyer for the Polish government to expand the scope of questions Rideout can be asked when he returns. Don Rosenbloom wanted to question Rideout about why the RCMP fought to withhold amateur video of the Taser incident, and why investigators failed to question the four Mounties who were deployed to handle Dziekanski when discrepancies were discovered in their statements.
The Green Party of British Columbia said Tuesday the RCMP is not accountable to the public and promised to replace the force in B.C. if the party wins the May 12 election.
Vancouver Sun – Vancouver Sun April 14, 2009 6:01 PM Calls by the Green Party of British Columbia to replace the RCMP with an “accountable” provincial police force are misguided and unlikely to result in the desired changes, say municipal leaders whose …
Canada.com – VANCOUVER — The Green Party of British Columbia said Tuesday the RCMP is not accountable to the public and promised to replace the force in BC if the party wins the May 12 election. “The deaths of Ian Bush and Robert Dziekanski are examples of recent …
Vancouver Sun – Vancouver Sun April 14, 2009 7:01 PM Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski is seen in the arrivals area of the Vancouver airport in this video footage October 14, 2007. VANCOUVER – Two senior media relations Mounties will have to testify at …
Toronto Star – Vancouver–BC’s Attorney General said this morning that there is always the possibility of laying charges against the four RCMP officers involved in the Taser shooting and death of Robert Dziekanski. The four officers were investigated by the RCMP after …
CBC.ca – Apr 13, 2009 BC Attorney General Wally Oppal, left, tells the CBC’s Terry Milewski that prosecutors may revisit the decision of not laying charges against the four Mounties involved in the Taser-related death of Robert Dziekanski. (CBC) British Columbia’s attorney …
BCLocalNews – – BC Local News The Green Party would scrap the RCMP in BC and replace it with a combination of a Metro Vancouver regional police force and a broader provincial police service. Leader Jane Sterk said the pledge stems from the need for a ..
The Canadian Press – Apr 13, 2009 VANCOUVER, BC — RCMP officers who testified at the inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver’s airport could still face charges after the inquiry but so far there is nothing to suggest that might happen, BC Attorney General Wally Oppal …
Canada.com – , Canwest News Service April 3, 2009 The mother of the Polish immigrant who was Tasered at the Vancouver International Airport demanded Thursday that the BC government appoint a special prosecutor to investigate her son’s death. …
TheTyee.ca – By Colleen Kimmett April 14, 2009 05:56 pm The Green Party of BC announced today that if elected it would create a provincial police force to replace the RCMP in British Columbia. “The RCMP have demonstrated they are not accountable to the public, …
The Province – The Province April 14, 2009 Comments (14) Criminal charges may still be laid against the four RCMP officers involved in the Tasering death of a Polish immigrant. The December decision by Crown prosecutors not to lay charges against the …
Canada.com – The four RCMP officers who Tasered a Polish immigrant at the Vancouver International Airport may face charges in his death, BC’s Attorney General told CBC News Monday. Robert Dziekanski died in October 2007 after being hit five times by a Taser, …
Winnipeg Free Press – Apr 13, 2009 VANCOUVER, BC – Police routinely call the media together for a show-and-tell display of video or pictures of the latest brazen criminal act, but lately, a similar spotlight has been shining on police and the picture isn’t pretty. …
Opinion250 News – By 250 News Prince George, BC- As the Braidwood Inquiry into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski prepares to resume, BC’s Attorney General has been quoted as saying the case may be revisted. The Crown had initially decided there would be no …
Ottawa Citizen – Vancouver Province April 14, 2009 7:29 PM Polish immigrant, Robert Dziekanski raised his hands above his head as a gesture of defiance rather than surrender, said the first RCMP officer testify at the Taser inquiry. …
“The deaths of Ian Bush and Robert Dziekanski are examples of recent failures to provide helpful enforcement services to the people of B.C.,” Green party Leader Jane Sterk said in a news release. Bush, 22, died in police custody in July 2005 from a gunshot wound to the head after a fight with an officer. The mill worker was arrested after being found with an open beer outside a hockey game in Houston, B.C. Dziekanski, 40, died after being hit five times with a Taser by an RCMP officer at the Vancouver International Airport in October 2007. The details of the Polish immigrant’s death, which was captured on camera by a bystander, are currently being investigated by an inquiry. “The Green party would end the RCMP E Division contract and replace the RCMP with a new B.C. police service. The B.C. police service would no longer make use of Taser electric weapons, and would be subject to civilian oversight under the auspices of an independent provincial police commissioner,” she added.
http://postedat.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/a-blatant-tax-on-the-motorist-speed-cameras/
Sterk also said the provincial government should cancel plans for a new RCMP headquarters.
Most reasonable and reasoning people have seen the folly of speed cameras for decades now too.
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