Vancouver Taser Death Video Continues to Fuel Worldwide Outrage and Condemnation
In the aftermath of the release of the graphic, horrifying video of Robert Dziekanski’s death by RCMP Taser at Vancouver Airport, the worldwide uproar and outrage continues. As Reuters notes.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were widely condemned on Friday for using stun guns on an unarmed Polish man who collapsed and died in an incident that was shown around the world in a graphic 10-minute video.
The footage of Robert Dziekanski howling in agony after he was hit by 50,000-volt Taser blasts at Vancouver International Airport is another blow to Canada’s famed Mounties, who have been shaken by a number of recent scandals.
The Globe and Mail, Canada’s most influential newspaper, ran a savage editorial on what it called “the summary execution of an innocent man” whose only crime was being confused.
“The Taser death video that was being broadcast around the world yesterday is a source of shame and disgrace for Canada and for its national police force,” the newspaper said.
Dziekanski, who flew to Canada to live with his mother in the Pacific province of British Columbia, mistakenly waited for her in the baggage area rather than passing through the customs section to enter the main part of Vancouver’s airport.
After several hours he became frustrated and threw a small table at a window. He was standing still when police arrived and fired at him almost immediately.
The Toronto Star said the quick use of a weapon designed only to be fired as last resort raised very troubling questions. The right-of-center National Post, usually a strong backer of law enforcement bodies, also condemned the Mounties.
“The appearance of poor practice here is so strong that the RCMP may face a tough decision whether to defend their members’ actions or to deny that they are, in fact, routine operating procedure,” it said.
Canadian news Web sites were flooded with hundreds of comments, most of them condemning the police.
The Globe and Mail had this to say:
The taser death video that was being broadcast around the world yesterday is a source of shame and disgrace for Canada and for its national police force.
The RCMP can seek to justify police actions all they like. They can argue that the four officers who tasered a Polish man at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14 were just following procedures.
They can argue that we don’t know for sure his cause of death, and that tasers are safe. They can argue that the video is only one piece of evidence and that people should wait for the results of an inquest before forming their judgments. They can say all of that, but the killing of Robert Dziekanski will be seen only one way: as the summary execution of an innocent man for the crime of being disoriented, for not understanding, for being a stranger.
The video, which was shot by Victoria resident Paul Pritchard, is almost impossible to watch for its tragic inevitability. It’s like watching a snuff film. But apart from police, there is some humanity in it. A woman in the video responds in a way the situation called for. She seems to understand that this is a person in distress. She approaches Mr. Dziekanski gently, opening a hand to him. She attempts to communicate with him. A man’s voice is also heard on the video trying to calm Mr. Dziekanski, saying, “There’s nothing wrong … It’s okay.” These two citizens were responding as human beings, offering help to someone in need.
The editorial continues, in its stark and much-needed condemnation. The Toronto Star has this to say:
Police officers are supposed to use Tasers as a weapon of last resort, after less drastic measures have failed to control an aggressive suspect and the only alternative is drawing their guns.
Yet it took RCMP officers only 30 seconds to employ one of the high-voltage stun guns against an agitated traveller at Vancouver International Airport last month, even though a bystander’s video released this week shows he did not appear to pose an immediate danger to anyone. Just minutes later, after police administered a second Taser jolt and restrained him, Robert Dziekanski was dead.
The haste with which officers resorted to using a Taser against a man who apparently was not actively confronting or threatening them raises extremely troubling questions. Even before the conclusion of several investigations that have already been launched into this incident, police forces across Canada should remind officers that Tasers should not be wielded casually. The weapons have the potential to save lives by giving police a viable alternative to using their guns. But where discussion, physical restraint, batons or other less extreme measures may defuse a situation without compromising the safety of officers or the public, they should always be tried first.
Paul Pritchard, who shot the video, appeared this morning on CBS. Visit the Web site to watch. Here is an excerpt of the transcript.
Pritchard told Storm it was the Mounties themselves who first made him realize the video, which they’d confiscated, might be worth retrieving, and publicizing.
He says he was motivated by “the fact that the police actually took it from me and didn’t give it back, and, you know, broke a verbal agreement, promising to give it back, and they took it away. (That) led me to believe that maybe there’s something important on that footage that I needed to get out to the public.”
Pritchard says that, when the incident began, Dziekanski “was acting a little bit strange. He was banging on glass. He was actually trying to get back into the secured area.
“I woke up, and started watching. And as soon as he got back through the glass doors, that’s when I started rolling with the film.
The Mounties took half-an-hour just to show up, Pritchard said, and “When police arrived, he stopped everything. He put up his hands. He gave up. When the police came, he thought it was over. The Mounties did not see him at this point break anything.”
Why did they taser him?
“I have no idea,” Pritchard responded. “It was the first step they took.”
They tasered Dziekanski at least twice, Pritchard said, adding that after the first time, “There’s audio of the man saying, ‘Hit him again, hit him again’ when he’s on the ground.
“He was on the ground. There were three officers on him, then the officer says, ‘Hit him again, hit him again.’
On Fox News, Neil Cavuto interviewed Tom Smith, the chairman and co-founder of Taser International who defended the weapon and its use. Visit the Web site for the full transcript. Similarly, Toronto’s police chief supports the continued use of Tasers. In contrast, Newfoundland has suspended Taser use. As far away as New Zealand, Taser use is being reevaluated.
This Vancouver television report on the worldwide reaction, includes interviews with Robert Dziekanski’s relatives in Poland.
We can only hope that a full investigation will proceed in Canada and that, worldwide, the use of Tasers will be reconsidered and reevaluated, lest there be more tragic deaths like that of Robert Dziekanski.
Comments
Leave a Reply
