Witness blames RCMP, Vancouver airport for death of Tasered man

[another day]

I want some goddamn justice. We can't have cops like this on the street. They are out of control idiots that cannot be trusted in a position of power like that, because they are clearly simply stupid individuals. They need to be OFF THE FORCE. No bullshit, 10 days without pay or a reprimand...they need to be off the force and facing civil or criminal charges relating to assault with a deadly weapon.

Btw, he wasn't drunk. The autopsy showed no drugs or alcohol in his system. The eyewitness was mistaken. He had been in this secure area for 10 hours, there is no bar or even food there. And trust me, if there was booze in his system, the police would have been all over that fact.

What's great is a clip I saw on cbc... Its of the vancouver spokesman for the pigs, giving a bunch of fake information about the incident before the tape was released, saying the guy attacked the cops, throw a chair at them, fought them even after he was handcuffed (hint, he was dead by that point)... And then after the tape was released it shows him again, only he refuses to do this interview in english, only in french, presumably so it gets less coverage, less people understand it, less people can detect feeling in his voice etc. But he basically said the information was wrong because that's what he given at the time..

In other words the four pigs involved just lied to their superiors about what happened, then tried to steal the tape from the guy to cover it up.

[another day]

Rally For Robert

Noon- 3pm saturday november 24 outside the vancouver art gallery

a protest against the actions of the rcmp officers for killing Robert Dziekanski, their lies to cover it up, and police brutality & misconduct in general.

All those who live in vancouver and are outraged about this, I encourage you to show up and make our voices heard!

[ruksak]

Quote by: another day Rally For Robert Noon- 3pm saturday november 24 outside the vancouver art gallery a protest against the actions of the rcmp officers for killing Robert Dziekanski, their lies to cover it up, and police brutality & misconduct in general. All those who live in vancouver and are outraged about this, I encourage you to show up and make our voices heard!

Will there be punch & pie?

[another day]

Quote by: ruksak Will there be punch & pie?

Absolutly.

[ruksak]

Quote by: another day Absolutly.

I'd go but I live some distance away. Give 'em hell though. Just stay away from the hooligans that may be looking to turn it violent. They are easy to recognize. They have riot gear and cans 'o mace.

[another day]

Quote by: ruksak I'd go but I live some distance away. Give 'em hell though. Just stay away from the hooligans that may be looking to turn it violent. They are easy to recognize. They have riot gear and cans 'o mace.

Didn't you see the montebello incident? Those are the undercover cops they plant in to give the riot cops an excuse to move in with force and/or discredit the protesters by making the general public think they are simply violence loving hooligans with no real political point.

God I wish I was joking. But I will stay away from big burly, thirty somethings wearing bandanas and police issue combat boots.

Oh wait, I just noticed you WERE referring to cops. Duh.

[Praxius]

Want more to fuel your angers?

Here it comes:


This amateur photo shows a man being taken away after a violent altercation with police who allegedly beat and Tasered the man.

He ain't pretty no more.....

CTV.ca | Man hit with Taser, baton in critical condition

A B.C. man was fighting for his life in hospital Tuesday after a police confrontation involving the use of a Taser the day before. RCMP in Chilliwack, B.C., say they used pepper spray, batons, and an electric stun gun known as a Taser to subdue a man who appeared to be acting aggressively at a rental store. Witnesses told CTV British Columbia that the man had been driving erratically before entering the business. They add that he became extremely agitated when he learned that police had been called. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Peter German said that when police arrived on the scene, "They encountered a very aggressive individual and the members, as we are informed at this point and time, were engaged in a very difficult struggle to control this person who was combative and aggressive." When none of the police tactics worked, the two Mounties who initially responded had to call for back-up. The 36-year-old man was taken to a local hospital after police subdued him. He was initially conscious and talking, but his condition worsened overnight. The man is listed in extremely critical condition with cuts to his head. The RCMP noted, however, it is not clear what led to the man's current medical condition. The Mounties have been in the middle of a public firestorm since mid-October when a Polish immigrant died after a Taser incident with police. A video recording of the incident released last week showed that RCMP officers used a Taser on Robert Dziekanski within 30 seconds of confronting him at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14. Although there is no evidence to suggest that either Dziekanski's injuries or those of the man in Chilliwack were the direct result of Taser use, the Mounties noted Tuesday that they will reconsider the use of electric stun guns if research warrants. "Should we ever be provided with any credible research or evidence that it shouldn't be used, we would certainly be in favour of a moratorium for its use," said Gary Bass, the RCMP Deputy Commissioner for the Pacific Region. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced on Tuesday that he will appoint Paul Kennedy -- the head of the Public Complaints Against the RCMP -- to review the use of Tasers by the Mounties.

What is missing a bit from this story, is they first attempted to talk their way through, then from my memory, attempted to arrest, broke out into a confrontation, they used pepper spray and then when that failed, they used the Taser, and then clubbed him a couple of time when that wasn't working to it's fullest.

In my opinion, this situation as far as the information provided thus far, was handled about as good as anybody could expect..... I imean if the guy was getting violent, at least they used other means prior to using the taser. In this case, he got what was coming to him.

But I am sure some will find something to complain about.

[another day]

I read about that... Sure it seems justified in that case, but that's what we thought before the video footage of robert dziekanskis case didn't we? But we found out that the story the cops told us was a bold and outright lie, that he didn't "attack the police officers", that he wasn't "fighting even after the handcuffs were on" (he was dead by that point)...There's no argueing that they blatently lied to the public to try to cover up their actions. CBC news showed a video, one after the other, of the police spokeman for vancouver rcmp, before and after the video was released. Those quotes I said were from before. Afterwards, he simply said that he was wrong and that the information he had was "incorrect". Oh yes, you didn't lie, you just had "incorrect information". Even if the cops involved had lied to their superiors and said they had been attacked, their superiors had the videotape that was taken from Paul Pritchard, showing that no such attack was made. This proves they didn't just have bad intel, they lied to cover up police brutality from the public's eyes.

So like I said, I have a feeling this instance the man truly was a violent threat and the force was necessary, but the RCMP has now successfully lost the public's trust by lying to them blatently and trying to cover up their actions. Personally, i have always been very wary of cops, but there are many, many people who were outright supporters and very trustful of our police force, and they are now distrustful and suspicious of the police.

And rightly so. That's what happens when you are caught in a lie, you lose credibility. The RCMP needs to learn they can't run around acting like this if they expect to continue serving as a police force in this country. There is already talk about disbanding the rcmp altogether and replacing it with municipal and city police forces. (though I'm not sure what that will fix, except maybe a fresh start)

[Osborn F Enready]

I think the RCMP involved watched too many episodes of "COPS L.A.".

[Keith Hamburger]

Quote by: ruksak Video: Breitbart.tv » Shock Video Shows Man Tasered to Death at Vancouver Airport Tasers save more lives than can be accounted for. Maybe if this idiot wasn't so worked up he would not have died. I could care less about this idiot.

This might be true, if tasers were only used in incidents where, otherwise, a firearm would be used. As it is, tasers are commonly used today in any incident where anyone exhibits the slightest hesitation to follow the commands of a police officer. When they are used as an enforcement tool, rather than as a defensive tool, there are no lives being saved.

Keith

[Praxius]

Here's another log on the fire:

Man dies in N.S. jail after Taser hit

A man who was jolted with a Taser has died in a Dartmouth, N.S., jail. The 45-year-old man died Thursday morning at the Burnside correctional centre, about 20 hours after police used a stun gun on him. Nova Scotia Justice Minister Cecil Clarke briefed reporters on the death and said there will be a review of police use of Tasers, but there will not be a ban on the weapons. The RCMP and the province's chief medical examiner are investigating the man's death. The hand-held Tasers deliver a jolt of electricity, which immobilizes the person targeted. The unidentified man is the latest person to die after being stunned by a Taser. Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died at the Vancouver airport five weeks ago, prompting the federal government to order a review of the RCMP's Taser policy. That review will not include other police forces.

Once one thing gets the country's attention, it would seem it stays under the microscope for all situations that occur.

[Praxius]

In Addition to this report: (This occured about a 20 mins drive from where I work)



CTV.ca | Taser review ordered after man dies in N.S. prison

Nova Scotia Justice Minister Cecil Clarke has ordered a ministerial review into the use of Tasers in the province after a man who was Tasered died at a correctional facility in Dartmouth today. In a press release issued Thursday, Clarke confirmed that an unidentified 45-year-old man died early this morning at the Central N.S. Correctional Facility and that a Taser had been used by police. "I have ordered Police Services officials in my department to immediately begin a review of policies and procedures regarding Taser use in Nova Scotia," said Clarke. "At the same time, RCMP are being called in to investigate the circumstances of the death at the correctional facility and I understand Halifax Regional Police will also have the RCMP conduct an external investigation into the arrest. "I also want to offer my condolences to the family at this difficult time." Clarke said the review will examine Taser practices of authorized users in the province, including law enforcement, corrections and sheriffs. RCMP investigation On Wednesday, the chairman of a Mountie watchdog group looking into Taser use by police in Canada said he was concerned the electronic stun guns were being overused. Paul Kennedy is the head of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and is investigating the death of Robert Dziekanski. Dziekanski died at Vancouver International Airport in October after arriving from Poland. He was held in a secure area of the airport for about 10 hours and became agitated. The Mounties were called in, confronted Dziekanski, and Tasered him less than 30 seconds after they arrived. Dziekanski died shortly afterwards. The incident was recorded by a witness, who released the video to the public earlier this month. In December, Kennedy is expected to report back on his investigation to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day. Kennedy has said the four officers involved in the takedown of Robert Dziekanski could face criminal charges. Kennedy is also looking into another incident involving the Mounties and the use of a Taser on a suspect. On Monday in Chilliwack, B.C., police used a Taser, pepper spray and batons in an attempt to subdue a 36-year-old man. He was listed in critical condition in hospital on Wednesday. Day is expected to release a report by Friday about the Canadian Border Service Agency's role in Dziekanski's detention at Vancouver Airport.

[another day]

Wow he said they could face criminal charges? That would be a very very smart thing for the rcmp to do to gain back the publics trust.

[Nono]

A broader view from Canada's Naomi Klein:

(...) Dziekanski was a young adult in 1989, when Poland began a grand experiment called “shock therapy” for the nation. The promise was that if the communist country accepted a series of brutal economic measures, the reward would be a “normal European country” like France or Germany. The pain would be short, the reward great. So Poland’s government eliminated price controls overnight, slashed subsidies, privatized industries. But for young workers such as Dziekanski, “normal” never arrived. Today, roughly 40% of young Polish workers are unemployed. Dziekanski was among them. He had worked as a typesetter and a miner, but for the last few years, he had been unemployed and had had run-ins with the law. Like so many Poles of his generation, Dziekanski went looking for work in one of those “normal” countries that Poland was supposed to become but never did. Two million Poles have joined this mass exodus during the last three years alone. Dziekanski’s cohorts have gone to work as bartenders in London, doormen in Dublin, plumbers in France. Last month, he chose to follow his mother to British Columbia, Canada, which is in a pre-Olympics construction boom. (...) I am talking about very different kinds of shocks here, but they do interconnect in a cycle I call “the shock doctrine.” First comes the shock of a national crisis, making countries desperate for any cure and willing to sacrifice democracy in the process. In Poland in 1989, that first shock was the sudden end of communism and the economic meltdown. Then comes the economic shock therapy, the undemocratic process pushed through in the window of crisis that jolts an economy into growth but blasts so many people out of the picture. Then, in far too many cases, there is the third shock, the one that disciplines and deals with the discarded people: the desperate, the migrants, those driven mad by the system.

Rest at

Los Angeles Times: Shocked to death

or

CommonDreams.org » Print » Shocked in Death, Shocked in Life: More Than a Taser Story

[another day]

interesting. I was late to the rally, it ended already, but I hear there was over 1000 people in attendance.

[Osborn F Enready]

another day said: but I hear there was over 1000 people in attendance.

Always glad to hear there are people willing to stand up and make noise about injustice.

[Praxius]

Update:



CTV.ca | RCMP to probe Dziekanski's history in Poland: CTV

The RCMP is seeking approval to travel to Poland in order to gather information about Robert Dziekanski, the Polish man who died after being Tasered at Vancouver airport last month, CTV News has learned. The RCMP told CTV News it would seek to investigate, among other things, Dziekanski's medical history as well as his criminal history in Poland. The information would be used in several of the ongoing inquiries and investigations launched in Canada. The Mounties say they would first need internal approval and diplomatic passports before embarking on the fact-finding mission. It's not known how many officers would go, or when. The news comes on the day Polish prosecutors in Dziekanski's former hometown of Gliwice announced they have launched their own investigation in the man's death, and said they would seek to find out whether Mounties in Vancouver "exceeded their authority and unintentionally caused the death." Michal Szulczynski, a spokesperson for the Gliwice prosecutor's office, said Wednesday that the investigation was launched Nov. 22 after Polish diplomats in Canada informed Polish prosecutors of Dziekanski's death. Video shot by a witness showed police using a Taser on Dziekanski, within 25 seconds of confronting him in the early-morning hours of Oct. 14. B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal says the Polish prosecutors are entitled to hold their own investigation. "They are well within their rights to demand answers for what happened to their national," Oppal said, adding, "whether or not that investigation has any repercussions is something else." Oppal said he couldn't comment on Polish law and how it may be applied to an investigation involving Canadian citizens. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) released its report into the Dziekanski incident last Monday and there are at least eight more investigations underway, including a public inquiry launched by the B.C. government and a federal inquiry into the RCMP's use of Tasers.

[another day]

What crap!!! What does Mr. Dziekanski's history have to do with this?? That is outrageous!

It's easy to see what they are trying to do here, trying to find some criminal past or something that they can drag into the media to make it seem like they killed a bad guy after all.

[Praxius]

Quote by: another day What crap!!! What does Mr. Dziekanski's history have to do with this?? That is outrageous! It's easy to see what they are trying to do here, trying to find some criminal past or something that they can drag into the media to make it seem like they killed a bad guy after all.

Agreed.... it would seem as though they will try to find something in his past which would justify their actions, when in fact, they never knew anything about his past at the time, nor did they give him enough time to show anything threatening in his character to justify what they did...... and regardless, his past criminal history, if any, wouldn't matter anyways..... perhaps if he was known to be a violent person and the police already knew about his past, one could find some remote justification for their actions.

But the bottom line is that this could have been anybody and they reacted inapropriatly.

[Nono]

I suggest that the Polish authorities investigate the medical history of the Mounties involved. Hell, one always finds something, and when they do, they should conduct their own inquiry into RCMP recruitment and training (which is probably run by Corporal Renfrew, eh?).