Vancouver Airport Taser Death Tape Released

VANCOUVER - Poland's consul general in Vancouver is so shocked by the video of Robert Dziekanski's death, he has now asked his country's Attorney General to look into the case.

"I asked the Polish prosecutors office to contact directly the Canadian Attorney General in order to establish what happened," Maciej Krych told the Vancouver Sun today, after the video was finally made public.

"After seeing the video, I am still in a state of shock," he said. "I am still rather terrified."

Police restrain Robert Dziekanski after shocking him with a Taser at Vancouver Airport last month.

Police restrain Robert Dziekanski after shocking him with a Taser at Vancouver Airport last month.

Krych said that before he saw the video, Poland had only written a diplomatic note to Canada "informing about our concern."

Now, he says, he has recommended that Poland use its existing relationships within Canada to monitor the case.

"There is an agreement between our two prosecutors offices," said Krych.

"What I have done is to send this information to the Polish prosecutors and ask them whether they want to investigate this case further," he added.

Krych would not say what rights or powers the Polish Attorney General has within Canada, or if he had sent copies of the video to Poland.

Dziekanski, who was from the south of Poland, died at Vancouver Airport on Oct. 14 after being shocked by a police Taser.

In B.C., reaction to the video of Dziekanski's death was an overwhelming sense of shock.

"It's awful. It's very intense," said New Democratic Party public safety critic Mike Farnworth just moments after seeing the footage.

"I hope I never have to see video like that again," he added.

Farnworth said the video highlights the difficult job police have, but also underscores the need for an independent investigation into the case.

"The public are going to see this and have all kinds of questions," he said.

"It would certainly be in the public interest to appoint a special prosecutor to either assist or lead the investigation," he added, saying that would be the only way to ensure a truly independent investigation.

The RCMP won't discuss the contents of the video or why the officers used the taser on Dziekanski.

"[The video] is one person's view. It's from the viewfinder of one individual," said Integrated Homicide Investigation Team spokesman Cpl. Dale Carr, in a news conference on Wednesday. "It's only one piece of evidence."

Carr said the investigation into Dziekanski's death could take about 45 days.

The RCMP police complaints commissioner is also looking into the matter, as is the Coroner.

Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General John Les said today it is too early to be considering a special prosecutor, and asked for patience.

"As difficult as it is, and I understand people's appetite for wanting to do this or that, there are clear processes laid out for these kinds of eventualities," he said.

"It's my obligation to make sure these things proceed properly so that we can first of all find out what happened, and secondly make sure we deal with any consequences properly," he added.

Les would not speak specifically about the contents of the tape, but did ask that people understand the context.

"Let's keep in mind this was an event that apparently went on much longer," he said.

"There are a tremendous amount of unanswered questions. I have questions as to what happened that day, what brought about this circumstance and then clearly the Tasering, did that properly comply with the protocol?" he added.

"What we need to try to do is not jump to too many conclusions and allow some time for the investigation and the inquest to be completed because those processes both are specifically designed to get at the facts, find out exactly what happened, and that's what we all need to know."

Paul Pritchard, a Victoria man who filmed Dziekanski's death, made arrangements to have the footage released to the public in Vancouver today.

"On the video you will see some things that I didn't talk about before because I didn't see them until I reviewed the tape," Pritchard said in an interview Tuesday.

Pritchard, 25, was at the airport because he was returning from China.

At the request of police, he gave them the video on the understanding they would return it immediately. When they then refused to give it back, he launched court action. Police returned it last week.

Dziekanski had been in the airport for many hours before he was Tasered on Oct. 14. He spoke no English, and apparently was unable to connect with his mother, who was waiting for him in another area of the airport.

The video shows an agitated Dziekanski throwing computer equipment in the Airport Greeting Centre, a secured area, before police arrive.

One security guard tells police, "He speaks Russian; no English."

Four police officers confront him, and he turns, raises his hands and walks away. Police surround him and shock him with the Taser, roughly 20 seconds after they arrive.

After he falls screaming in pain, all four officers attempt to hold him down, with as many as three at a time pinning his body to the ground. One officer places both knees on Dziekanski's back, head and neck.

Dziekanski, 40, later died.