Judge rules Mountie lied at inquiry into Robert Dziekanski's death

[Traum]

Judge rules Mountie lied at inquiry into Robert Dziekanski's death

Judge rules Mountie lied at inquiry into Robert Dziekanski's death
By James Keller, Vancouver Sun February 20, 2015 5:08 PM

VANCOUVER — The RCMP officer who stunned Robert Dziekanski with a Taser at Vancouver's airport lied at a public inquiry, a judge ruled Friday, marking the first guilty verdict of any kind related to the Polish immigrant's death.

Const. Kwesi Millington's perjury conviction comes more than seven years after Dziekanski's fatal confrontation with police, which stained the image of the RCMP and led to sweeping changes to how officers across the country use Tasers.

Millington was among four Mounties summoned to Vancouver's airport in October 2007 after Dziekanski, who spoke no English, started throwing furniture in the international terminal. Millington fired his Taser less than a minute after arriving.

The officers, who were never charged for their actions on the night of Dziekanski's death, were compelled to explain what happened at a subsequent public inquiry, and all four were later charged with perjury.

The Crown alleged they lied when they attempted to reconcile their initial accounts of what happened with an amateur video released later. Prosecutors accused the officers of colluding on a story to tell investigators and then lying at the inquiry to cover it up.

B.C. Supreme Court Judge William Ehrcke described Millington's explanations at the inquiry to be "simply preposterous" and he concluded the officer had a strong motive to lie.

"The discrepancies are all in one direction: that of exaggerating the threat posed by Mr. Dziekanski," Ehrcke said Friday, as Millington listened from the prisoner's dock.

"I find his explanation to be patently false."

For example, Millington initially said Dziekanski remained standing after the first jolt of the Taser and that the four officers wrestled the man to the ground. The video clearly shows Dziekanski fell to the floor on his own almost as soon as he was stunned.

Millington told the inquiry he thought Dziekanski was standing when he pulled the trigger a second time and he said he honestly believed the officers wrestled Dziekanski to the ground, though he acknowledged in the face of the video that he was mistaken.

Ehrcke concluded the officers must have spoken to each other before providing statements to homicide investigators, but all four Mounties denied that.

"This the only rationale inference available," Ehrcke said.

Another officer, Const. Bill Bentley, was acquitted in 2013, while two other cases have not yet concluded.

The verdict places the Crown in the awkward position of having a conviction against one officer and an acquittal for another, despite the fact that prosecutors' theory was that the four officers all lied together. A Crown spokesman declined to comment about the apparent contradiction other than to say the cases were different.

Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski, who sat quietly in the public gallery as the judge read the verdict, said Friday was the first time she has been happy since her son died.

"I am the happiest person all over the world," said Cisowski, who lives in Kamloops, where Dziekanski planned to move after immigrating to Canada.

"I have no words."

Millington testified in his own defence.

He told the court he had no reason to lie because he has always believed he did nothing wrong. He denied colluding with the other officers.

The Crown also alleged the officers met in the Vancouver area in early 2009 to plan their testimony. A witness, whose ex-husband is Bentley's cousin, told the court the officers met at her home, but her ex-spouse said the meeting happened months later.

The judge said there was evidence the officers met at the woman's house at some point in 2009, but it wasn't clear whether that happened before or after their testimony at the inquiry.

Lawyers will meet again in March to set a date for a sentencing hearing.

Former corporal Benjamin (Monty) Robinson is awaiting a verdict and Const. Gerry Rundel's trial, which proceeded in another courtroom on Friday, is almost finished.

The Crown has filed an appeal of Bentley's acquittal.

About damn time...

[fliptuner]

Bentley probably thought he was free and clear too.

I wonder what their sentence is going to be. Given the high profile of the incident, you'd think they would get a fairly substantial punishment - although I also wouldn't be surprised if they were suspended w/ pay.

[LilRed]

Feel kinda sorry for this guy. Rookie?

[multicartual]

They killed him.

[Verdasco]

soooooo how many years in jail you guys think?

[Timpo]

Originally Posted by Verdasco

soooooo how many years in jail you guys think?

According to Criminal Code of Canada:

Second-degree murder
Definition: A deliberate killing carried out without planning that does not fall under any of the categories of first degree murder. Sentence: The minimum sentence is life in prison with no parole for 10 years, but sentences can be as long as life in prison without parole for 25 years

http://everything2.com/title/Crimina...%2520continued

[fliptuner]

Second degree murder, not likely. Afaik, only 2 Canadian PO's have ever been convicted of murder.
Category:Canadian police officers convicted of murder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


edit - vitaminG is right, my bad.

[Nabatron]

knowing how fucked our government system is I wouldnt be surprised if he gets a slap on the wrist..

[vitaminG]

If I'm not mistaken he's only been found guilty of perjury. Where are people getting murder from?

[westopher]

Wonder how long his suspension with pay will be.

[kkttsang]

Am I reading it wrong but he's only convicted in perjury and not the death of Robert.

[Timpo]

Originally Posted by westopher

Wonder how long his suspension with pay will be.

I am always confused about suspension with pay.
How is this going to be a punishment? He will essentially be getting a paid vacation, but for a not very good reason.

I'd say suspension without would be more appropriate. For a few months.
If he wants to make money during that time, he should go look for a job somewhere else or maybe do some cleaning/maintenance for the police department or something.

It's just gonna cost us tax payer more money because we'll be paying a guy who is virtually doing nothing + pay for an over-time wage for different police officer whoever is covering his shift.

[Hurricane]

A lunatic with a heart condition died as a result of a trigger happy officer testing out his new equipment excessively.

If they wrestled him to the ground they could have broken his neck and killed him too.

Ultimately, its just a set of unlucky and unfortunate circumstances. Nothing more to see here.

[geeknerd]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

A lunatic with a heart condition died as a result of a trigger happy officer testing out his new equipment excessively.

If they wrestled him to the ground they could have broken his neck and killed him too.

Ultimately, its just a set of unlucky and unfortunate circumstances. Nothing more to see here.

what about the perjury and the excessive force?

[Timpo]

Happened in 2007 and now 2015.
Why is it taking this long with a video proof and everything.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

A lunatic with a heart condition died as a result of a trigger happy officer testing out his new equipment excessively.

If they wrestled him to the ground they could have broken his neck and killed him too.

Ultimately, its just a set of unlucky and unfortunate circumstances. Nothing more to see here.

What the fuck is wrong with you.

He's a lunatic?

The man was just trying to immigrate here, instead we treated him like an animal. They kept him couped up in the airport for hours, wouldn't tell his family where he was, and eventually he was shot with a taser and killed in the hands of those who are here to serve and protect us.

You are comparing the death of someone by taser, to the remote chance that wrestling him to the ground would break his neck? Jesus christ.

There is a lot more to see here, the 4 officers involved LIED WHILE UNDER OATH, their actions have already been deemed as non-justifiable, and you claim there is nothing more to see?

I think there is plenty more to see, like these 4 disgraces being fired, and perhaps being charged criminally.

He was one fucking guy, just a construction worker in his country not a black belt, or an MMA fighter. And he was confronted by 4 fucking PO's who are trained in disarming people, and hand to hand combat. This incident had no reason whatsoever to end the way it did, a JUDGE EVEN STATED THAT.

So you coming in here claiming he is a lunatic, and that he died because of his own health problems, is not only incorrect, it's downright disgusting.

[quasi]

Originally Posted by Timpo

I am always confused about suspension with pay.
How is this going to be a punishment? He will essentially be getting a paid vacation, but for a not very good reason.

I'd say suspension without would be more appropriate. For a few months.
If he wants to make money during that time, he should go look for a job somewhere else or maybe do some cleaning/maintenance for the police department or something.

It's just gonna cost us tax payer more money because we'll be paying a guy who is virtually doing nothing + pay for an over-time wage for different police officer whoever is covering his shift.

It's part of the collective bargaining agreement. It's a union thing nothing more nothing less, for the record I agree with you but good luck changing it. It's the same for pretty much every Union position.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by vitaminG

If I'm not mistaken he's only been found guilty of perjury. Where are people getting murder from?

I'm pretty sure the perjury was the part that's a problem, at least that's the part I have a problem with. I haven't read anything to make me believe that tazering him was completely unjustified.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by underscore

I'm pretty sure the perjury was the part that's a problem, at least that's the part I have a problem with. I haven't read anything to make me believe that tazering him was completely unjustified.

The judge who was appointed to the case, B.C. Supreme Court justice Thomas Braidwood, stated, and I quote:

The officer's use of the Taser was not justified

This is a man who reviewed the entire case and, and all the evidence. His report also stated, again I am quoting:

This tragic case is, at its heart, the story of shameful conduct by a few officers.

I guess you can see it as a matter of opinion, but after seeing the video, understanding the circumstances, and hearing that the man was tasered multiple times even though the video clearly shows him going down immediately after the first shock, I really don't see how you can think their actions were justified.

EDIT: Full inquiry is listed here:

http://www.braidwoodinquiry.ca/whats...8.pdf#zoom=100

That's where I am pulling quotes from.

[underscore]

^ that can't be an exact quote, because when I search for it I can't find it. Regardless, I can agree that multiple tazerings may have been excessive, however I find it odd that the fact he was throwing suitcases and furniture around the airport frequently seems to be downplayed.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by underscore

^ that can't be an exact quote, because when I search for it I can't find it. Regardless, I can agree that multiple tazerings may have been excessive, however I find it odd that the fact he was throwing suitcases and furniture around the airport frequently seems to be downplayed.

Omg okay sorry I took the quote from the interview with him. Here is the quote from the report:

I concluded that the constable was not justified in deploying the weapon

The second quote is in the article exactly as written. The thing is only 3 pages long read it yourself.

And the fact that he was aggressive isn't being downplayed, but you have to look at the entire scenario the poor guy was put through.

He takes a flight from poland to here, his first time ever on an airplane, he's by himself, doesn't speak a lick of english, he has done nothing wrong, his papers are in order, they clearly state he needs a translator to complete the customs paperwork, etc.

He is then put into the hands of CBSA agents who take a frightening situation for the guy, and make an absolute debauchery of the process, the guy spent like 10 hours in the baggage claim area of the stupid airport, of course after that sort of period anyone would be fed up, compound that on top of the other things he had gone through that day and the guy was obviously on edge.

He is then surrounded by 4 officers, who don't even attempt to read the scene instead they almost immediately pull a tazer and shock the guy to his death.

Anyone who thinks that entire process above was some sort of a success, or just an "unlucky and unfortunate circumstances", is truly an idiot.

[Traum]

^^ Meme405, I am a little hazy on the exact proceedings of Mr. Dziekanski's poor fate, but I am reasonably certain that the various news reports were all reporting that he has hardly been getting any sleep at all throughout the ordeal (probably starting from the moment when he boarded the flight?).

People are naturally not quite themselves when they are deprived of sleep. When you add all the anxiety factors into the equation, it is hardly surprising that he responded the way he did.

Sigh... such a tragic turn of events...

[meme405]

^It was a long time ago, and I think most of the public like myself had moved past the incident, but the inquiry in 2010, and this new verdict bring all the bad memories of the incident back. It really makes you think what Mr. Dziekanski's poor family, and especially his mother must be going through even after almost 10 years.

That's the person I feel the worst for in this entire ordeal his mother. I've been back and reviewed the pretty vague timeline since this most recent case, this is more or less how it went down as everyone understands it:

-Mr Dziekanski arrived in Vancouver at 3:15PM - This is after an exceptionally long flight from Frankfurt since his plane was delayed over 2 hours.

-Among dealings with CBSA and other issues with language barriers not much is known about what happened during his time from 4pm till about 11pm. But he was basically at the mercy of the CBSA people, trapped in the baggage area of the airport.

-From about 11pm till midnight he was finally dealt with and cleared for entry into Canada.

-Once Dziekanski was taken to the arrivals area of the airport his Mother was not there, because she had been told he had never arrived on his flight (she was lied to), she waited there from some time early in the afternoon till 10PM, until finally leaving to go back to kamloops.

-Dziekanski at this point what I can only assume frustrated to no end, unable to communicate and probably dead tired after the entire ordeal was visibly distraught and the police were called, and the end result of that we all know.

The situation is so sad because you can only wonder, had his mother have been there, had she not been lied to about his whereabouts for like 6 hours, had she not left almost 3 hours before he was finally cleared for entry, this story might still have had a happy ending.

Instead it's an all round tragedy.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by meme405

And the fact that he was aggressive isn't being downplayed, but you have to look at the entire scenario the poor guy was put through.

He takes a flight from poland to here, his first time ever on an airplane, he's by himself, doesn't speak a lick of english, he has done nothing wrong, his papers are in order, they clearly state he needs a translator to complete the customs paperwork, etc.

He is then put into the hands of CBSA agents who take a frightening situation for the guy, and make an absolute debauchery of the process, the guy spent like 10 hours in the baggage claim area of the stupid airport, of course after that sort of period anyone would be fed up, compound that on top of the other things he had gone through that day and the guy was obviously on edge.

I get that things started to really go south once CBSA botched things up, but how would anyone really expect that situation to go? A solo first time flight halfway around the world to a country where you don't speak the language is not going to magically end swimmingly.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that everyone fucked up here, and unfortunately all those fuck ups aligned and tragically cost a man his life.

[geeknerd]

Originally Posted by underscore

I get that things started to really go south once CBSA botched things up, but how would anyone really expect that situation to go? A solo first time flight halfway around the world to a country where you don't speak the language is not going to magically end swimmingly.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that everyone fucked up here, and unfortunately all those fuck ups aligned and tragically cost a man his life.

yes everyone fucked up when they were trained not to. thats why its so fucked up. those fuck up should be punished.