Taser Death in Vancouver: Authorities' Arrogance Led to Man's Unnecessary Demise

By Charlie Smith; November 15, 2007 - Georgia Straight
http://www.straight.com/article-118485/taser-death-in-vancou...

There are several investigations underway into the death of Robert Dziekanski, the Polish man who was tasered last month by [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] at Vancouver International Airport.

Don't expect any of these probes to touch on the real cause of this man's untimely demise: institutional arrogance, which starts in [British Columbia] Premier Gordon Campbell's office and extends into the upper ranks of the RCMP and the coroner's office.

For years, human-rights lawyers such as Cameron Ward, have pointed out the obvious problem of having a former RCMP officer in charge of the coroner's office. Terry Smith, the former RCMP superintendent in Surrey, is only the latest example.

The premier didn't feel that Ward's concerns were worth addressing. The premier isn't big on the notion that justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done.

Smith's office reports to B.C.'s solicitor general, who was also a former RCMP officer [Rich Coleman] during Campbell's first term. The current solicitor general, John Les, might as well be a former cop when you listen to him defend police.

The coroner's office has a statutory responsibility for investigating in-custody deaths.

As long as the provincial government keeps installing former RCMP officers as the chief coroner, police officers across the province know they have one of their own in a key oversight position.

Before Smith was chief coroner, the position was occupied by blowhard Senator Larry Campbell, who didn't feel that the disgusting treatment and death of Frank Paul was worthy of an inquest. [Frank Paul was an indigenous man who was dragged unconscious from a jail cell by VPD cops into a freezing cold alley where he died. - MW]

Other provinces appoint people with medical expertise to head the coroner's office. Not this premier and not this solicitor general.

The consequences extend beyond the investigation into in-custody deaths, which is conducted by the police, thanks again to Les and Campbell.

The chief coroner can also ensure that police-friendly lawyers are appointed as the coroner's counsel at coroner's inquests. This reduces the chance of uncomfortable questions being asked of police at inquests into in-custody deaths.

The provincial government won't pay legal aid to ensure that the families of victims are represented. Chalk up another one in favour of the cops.

Is it any wonder that police didn't show much restraint in using tasers against Dziekanski, even though there had already been more than a dozen other deaths following taser attacks in Canada?

Two days after the attack, former Vancouver police chief and former RCMP superintendent Jamie Graham was crowing on the radio about how useful tasers are.

The police at the airport planned to use tasers before they even reached the man and evaluated his condition, according to the tape released yesterday. The police used their tasers within 30 seconds, even though Dziekanski appeared to be surrendering.

But why should police show any restraint? They likely knew that there would be no consequences. There almost never are.

Vancouver's taser death is now being shown around the world. It has harmed our country's reputation, and it might even cause a few tourists to reconsider visiting Canada in the future. It has undoubtedly damaged relations with the Polish people.

It has brought shame upon our country.

It's outrageous that the head of the Vancouver International Airport Authority, Larry Berg, waited weeks before speaking publicly.

Long ago, the federal government turned the airport loose by creating an "authority", meaning there was no longer a minister responsible for its operations.

Why should Berg have stepped forward earlier? He's not really accountable to anyone except his board of directors. Campbell doesn't care that there is no real public oversight and accountability. Nor does Prime Minister Stephen Harper. They see our publicly owned airport as little more than a business.

Nothing is likely to change as a result of this taser death because our arrogant and grossly overpaid leaders think they know better than the rest of us.

They see nothing wrong with putting cops in charge of investigating cops. They see nothing wrong with eliminating any real public accountability around publicly owned facilities, such as the airport and the ferry terminal.

They should be ashamed of themselves for having such contempt for democracy, accountability, and for the common people. But there won't be any shame because it's not possible for the most arrogant among us to experience that feeling.