"Polish inquiry into Vancouver airport death may end with indictment of Canadians"

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Polish inquiry into Dziekanski death may end with indictment of Canadians
By Meagan Fitzpatrick
Agence France-Presse


A ninth investigation has been launched into the death of Robert Dziekanski
at Vancouver International Airport last month, but this one crosses
international borders and is being conducted by Polish authorities.

"The aim of the investigation is to verify whether (Canadian police)
exceeded their authority and involuntarily caused the death of a Polish
citizen," said Michal Szulczynski, spokesman for the regional prosecutor's
office in the southwestern Polish city of Gliwice, Dziekanski's hometown.

"The Polish criminal code allows for an investigation in cases which have
taken place abroad but which involve a Polish citizen," Szulczynski said
Wednesday. "Foreign nationals can be prosecuted in such cases."

Dziekanski, who spoke no English, had just left Poland to begin a new life
in Canada with his mother. He died at the airport in the early hours of Oct.
14, soon after RCMP officers used a Taser to subdue him. He had been acting
erratically and aggressively after spending about nine hours in the baggage
area, unable to connect with his mother, who was waiting in another part of
the airport.

Dziekanski's last moments and death, recorded on another passenger's video,
attracted worldwide attention and sparked a debate about the use of Tasers
by police.

The footage shows an agitated Dziekanski, 40, throwing a computer and small
table. At one point, he appears to walk away from the four RCMP officers who
had just arrived on the scene with his arms raised. Seconds later, a Taser
is used twice and Dziekanski is pinned to the ground. His heart stopped a
short time later.

While eight investigations have been called in Canada, Polish authorities
say they just want to get to the bottom of what happened, and "are not going
to wait for the results of the Canadian investigation," said Szulczynski.

"For the moment, it's a question of clarifying the circumstances and causes
of Robert Dziekanski's death, but we can't rule out that in a later phase
the investigation could lead to the indictment of Canadian officials," he
added.

Two days after Dziekanski's death, the Polish Embassy in Ottawa asked the
Canadian government to conduct a full investigation and provide the embassy
with the results. Polish Ambassador Piotr Ogrodzinski has already met with
Paul Kennedy, the chair of the RCMP public complaints commission and lawyers
from Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs traveled to Vancouver two weeks
ago. Canada's ambassador to Poland, David Preston, met with Polish officials
there to discuss the case and possible legal co-operation between the two
countries.

Currently, the British Columbia government is conducting a full public
inquiry; Kennedy, the RCMP public complaints commissioner, has launched an
inquiry; the RCMP has begun an internal review; Public Safety Minister
Stockwell Day's department released the findings of a Canada Border Service
Agency internal investigation on Monday; the homicide investigation team
from the RCMP and municipal police departments in Metro Vancouver is
conducting a probe; the Vancouver International Airport Authority is
conducting an internal review; B.C.'s Coroner Service has scheduled an
inquest for May 5-16, 2008, and the Commons public safety committee
announced last Thursday it will launch an investigation.

A spokeswoman for the Polish Embassy said the Polish investigation should
not be taken as an indication that the country doesn't have confidence in
the Canadian inquiries. Sylwia Domisiewicz said, as a matter of course,
Poland initiates an investigation whenever a Polish citizen dies in another
country.

"We do have trust in your authorities, you have a perfect legal system and
it's a democratic country," Domisiewicz said in an interview. She added that
she didn't think the investigation would have any effect on diplomatic
relations.

"We do not have the feeling that it will affect our political relations,
it's just a criminal affair and it's just a matter of a Polish citizen who
died in the territory of Canada and legal authorities from both countries
are interested in that," she said.

Domisiewicz said Poland will request judicial assistance from the
appropriate Canadian authorities based on a 1994 treaty signed between
Poland and Canada pledging mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.

"It will be a very good occasion to have this co-operation between our legal
systems based on this treaty that was signed a few years ago," Domisiewicz
said.

A spokeswoman for Day said he was aware of reports about Poland's
investigation but, "It would be inappropriate to speculate on these reports
at this time."

"Once again, Minister Day wants to reiterate his sincerest sympathy to the
family of Mr. Dziekanski for this tragic incident," spokeswoman Melisa
Leclerc said in an e-mail.

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