Robert Dziekański Taser Case
Skip to 6:20 to see the incident. If this video does not work then you may go on Youtube and watch it there, the video is called-
So many of you may have heard of this case that happened back in mid October, 2007. The story goes like this; Robert Dziekański is from Poland and was deciding to emigrate to emigrate to Kamloops, here in British Columbia. He planned on starting a new life here, living with his mother. However in October, 2007, he arrived in Vancouver Airport, speaking not a word of English. After spending many hours in customs, he eventually left and became very agitated. No one could help because no one could communicate with him. Shortly after 4 RCMP officers arrived, trying to resolve the situation. Within less than a minute one of the officers ordered for a taser to be used. Robert fell to the ground and began convulsing, thrashing around and screaming all the while the officers continued to tase him, hold him down and handcuff him. Shortly after Robert Dziekański's heart stopped, and he died. None of the officers helped him and instead waited for the paramedics to arrive, to which they couldn't revive him.
There are many controversies as to what happened, and why it happened that day. The officers claim to have resorted to the use of the taser because the use of pepper spray had the potential of harming innocent bystanders. However if you watch the video, you will notice that the officers were separated from everyone else by a glass wall. So the question is why? Why use a taser, or why use any weapon at all when all Mr. Dziekański was doing was being part passive; part active resistant? Mr. Dziekański (although didn't speak a word of English) was being verbally refusive, and was only walking away, he never got physical in the attempt to apply force to any of the officers. Robert Dziekański's was probably angry from all that was going on with customs, but he was also probably scared from being in a new environment, one that he's no used to and doesn't understand what's happening around him. His behaviour does not justify the RCMP officers to use a weapon such as the taser, and especially because it was 4 odds to one.
When dealing with a situation like this, it's best to look at it from all angles, meaning we have to look farther than the outside occuring factors and look internally. What were the officers thinking? What were they perceiving? Based on their personal risk assessment at that given moment, they felt it was necessary to use excessive force with a weapon. But based on what the video shows, and from the information gathered by witnesses, that story is believed to be incorrect, it is believed that the RCMP officers acted immorally. What they did was unjustifiable as there was no real threat to their safety or the safety of others.
To this day a verdict has not been made but there will be another trial in February of 2014. These officers have been defended by RCMP the whole time, claiming what they did was right, but I still feel it wasn't, and I am looking forward to the result of the trial this February.
Here are a couple of other links to take a look at and read, both have some good information.
The Robert Dziekański case is still very important to us now and when it happened. Mistakes of the RCMP force on a single person against 4 RCMP officers, Use of a taser and continued to use it, and Pepper spray is not a reason to tase someone when the public is out of range of it. Also why couldn't the RCMP call a person in the airport or somewhere close by that can speak polish and help out before the taser? Why didn't the RCMP help keep Robert alive before the paramedics came? To me this was a big mistake for the RCMP. They should take it slow if a similar situation pops up like this one.
ReplyDeleteNice job. The video helped me to understand how the scene exactly took place. I agree with your point that the RCMP officers acted out immorally especially when there are four of them. Even one taser shot could've done it, but they kept tasing him even after when he was on the ground. This incident is so unfortunate, and I would really want to see the result of the trial.Anyways, I liked how you gathered up informations from different websites and put them together. Try to make the title white next time. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonathan. I'm glad we had a chance to bring this up in class and discuss it. I found an article that gave the verdict in regards to Bentley and the perjury charge (see the link below). The attached article is also interesting because it brings up the question of how reliable witnesses are, whether it be the RCMP officers or the travellers.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/rcmp-officer-not-guilty-of-perjury-in-dziekanski-taser-probe-1.1388241
After reading the article I see the point you are making and personally I feel that there is no real way to determine how reliable some witnesses can be. In any given case it is very probable that witnesses won't say the exact same thing, because anyone can view a situation differently. In this case for example, Bentley testified that Dziekanski had picked up a stapler and had swung it at him, almost hitting him. However, in the video that was taken, that never happened, although, Dziekanski was facing away from the camera. Witnesses also seem to disagree with Bentley's statement.
ReplyDeleteAnother point I'd like to bring up that I found really interesting was the fact that at the time, Bentley had been an RCMP officer for just over a year. Maybe it was because there was a lack of experience, that this happened? Who can really know. Now given that this was a very fast-paced incident it's understandable that the four RCMP officers reacted. However, it's unreasonable in the way they acted. I also found it really weird that the RCMP officer who has the least amount of experience, was the one who called the ambulance and alerted dispatch of Dziekanski's worsening condition.
Thanks for posting that article Ms. Snodden, it was really interesting to read.