RCMP complaints commissioner releases report

[Tonington]

Surprised China didn't beat me to the punch. The findings of Commissioner Paul Kennedy regarding the death of Robert Dziekanski:

• While they were in the lawful execution of their duties as police officers, the four officers failed to adopt a measured, coordinated and appropriate response to Mr. Dziekanski's reported behaviour.
• The senior on-scene RCMP member failed to take charge of the RCMP's response.
• No meaningful attempt was made to de-escalate the situation.
• No warning—visual or otherwise—was given to Mr. Dziekanski prior to him being tasered by the Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW).
• Use of the CEW against Mr. Dziekanski was premature and inappropriate.
• The CEW was used multiple times on Mr. Dziekanski without any significant effort made to determine the need for further use.
• The RCMP members present should have more actively provided first aid and monitored Mr. Dziekanki's condition.
• The four RCMP members inappropriately met alone after the death of Mr. Dziekanski—prior to giving their statements.
• The versions of events given to investigators by the four RCMP officers involved in the Vancouver International Airport in-custody death of Robert Dziekanski are not deemed credible by the CPC.
• The senior on-scene RCMP member should not have been present at the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) briefing held at the Richmond Detachment on October 14, 2007.
• No bias or partiality toward the involved RCMP members was present in the IHIT investigation of the death of Mr. Dziekanski, but the Pritchard video should have been shown to the members before taking statements from them.
• The RCMP should have released certain information to the media which would have served to clarify information pertaining to the death of Mr. Dziekanski and corrected erroneous information previously provided without compromising the IHIT investigation.

Report available here:
Report Following a Public Interest Investigation into a Chair Initiated Complaint Respecting the Death in RCMP Custody of Mr. Robert Dziekanski

Conspiracy theorists will note, that Kennedy's tenure is at an end this year.

 

[TenPenny]

The first 5 items were, in my opinion, evident from the very beginning.

 

[Nuggler]

TONINGTON:""

Surprised China didn't beat me to the punch. The findings of Commissioner Paul Kennedy regarding the death of Robert Dziekanski:""

He's probably waiting for a Polish newspaper or the Wangdong Weekry News to verify the story.

8O

 

[lone wolf]

He doesn't likely want to know. Losing a reason to gripe would be like losing a friend

 

[Ron in Regina]

Well....thankfully the video existed, & that Pritchard's Lawyer ensured
that the video stayed in existence....and that it was eventually seen by
the Public or it may as well have not existed.

What will happen with the four Officers directly involved in this death?

What will happen with the many Officers in the chain of command
above these four Officers who.....well....we all know what they did. (?)

Will there be an consequences with respect to this report?

The Braidwood Inquiry results are still four months away, but this'll
give some indication as to which way the wind will be blowing....

 

[lone wolf]

Really, I don't think they have much choice but to do some disciplinary actions - from the top on down. All the controls and bluster in the world can't recover credibility lost

 

[talloola]

I have been very upset from the outset of this story. This poor mandid not ever have to die like he did. These big strong men didn'teven have the courage to walk up to him and quietly explain, or if they had to, restrain him manually, and escort him to another area,and have a medical person and also an interpreter who could have explainedto him exactly what was going on.What a senseless crime this was, and I feel happy that someone hadthe sense and fairness of thought to say so.

 

[Nuggler]

I have been very upset from the outset of this story. This poor mandid not ever have to die like he did. These big strong men didn'teven have the courage to walk up to him and quietly explain, or if they had to, restrain him manually, and escort him to another area,and have a medical person and also an interpreter who could have explainedto him exactly what was going on.What a senseless crime this was, and I feel happy that someone hadthe sense and fairness of thought to say so.

Right you are, Taloola. Since this happened, one of the "officers" has been caught for impaired driving, and seems to have other personality problems. Like that was hard to figure.

Glad it was caught on tape, or the whole thing would have been swept under the carpet, witnesses discounted, and no action taken against these storm troopers. As it is, they may yet walk.

Shameful episode.

 

[JLM]

I have been very upset from the outset of this story. This poor mandid not ever have to die like he did. These big strong men didn'teven have the courage to walk up to him and quietly explain, or if they had to, restrain him manually, and escort him to another area,and have a medical person and also an interpreter who could have explainedto him exactly what was going on.What a senseless crime this was, and I feel happy that someone hadthe sense and fairness of thought to say so.

Right on. Now finally after two years of lying and deceipt we are finally getting the official version of what 99% of us recognized all along. Robinson's goose is pretty well cooked, even public demonstrations now which the powers that be can't ignore.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Right on. Now finally after two years of lying and deceipt we are finally getting the official version of what 99% of us recognized all along. Robinson's goose is pretty well cooked, even public demonstrations now which the powers that be can't ignore.

It's not just Robinson though, it's the entire organization above Robinson and
how this situation (and others) have been dealt with. Robinson was a product
of his environment and of what he was allowed and encouraged to do by the
structure of the organization that he belongs to.

Ultimately, Law Enforcement Officers are Public Servants just like the people
that collect your garbage or clear the snow off the roads, and catch stray pets
before they become a danger to the public or roadkill, etc...and all are honorable
professions.

The occupations I've listed above (and countless others) are all necessary for our
society to function, and are all supported with our tax dollars so that they benefit
all that contribute to a functioning society. All of these professions would have
rules to follow, along with ethical guidelines, and should be answerable to the
public (the 'mob' we call society) who hire and fund their livelihoods for the
betterment of society as a whole.

The slogan of "To Serve & Protect" comes to mind, not just in the case of Law
Enforcement, but with respect to all Public Servants, or they'd not be necessary.

The Garbage Collector Serves us by collecting our garbage and that Protects
us from rodent infestations and disease and so on and so forth...

The SnowPlow Operator Serves us by clearing the roads of snow and that
Protects us from dangerous road conditions to help avoid personal injury or
death and loss of property and increasing insurance rates and such....

We all know that Law Enforcement Officers are also Public Servants and most
by far are upstanding citizens and Public Servants who also have the ethical
mindset of "To Serve & Protect" at the forefront of their actions....but something
very wrong happened in the case of this Dziekanski death not only with the death
itself....but in the minutes and hours and days and weeks and months and now
years after this death....from the bottom with the four officers directly involved with
this death, all the way up to the top with the lies and deceit to the public and the
effort to hide and alter the facts and evidence in this situation. Somewhere along
the way the slogan of "To Serve & Protect" was dropped and the slogan of,
"Liar, liar....pants on fire" seems to have not only been adopted, but endorsed by
almost every level of enforcement from the bottom to the top in this situation.

We, the Public (the 'Mob'), have learned that not everyone is directly responsible
for their own actions....let along answerable to the society that supports them in
their occupations as Public Servants. Some of us had already discovered this in
our own dealings and experiences, but for many this was a real eye opener. This
isn't over as the Braidwood Inquiry results are still months away, and those will still
only be recommendations that may affect future dealings and situations if these
recommendations are adopted and then followed, but may very well have no bearing
on the situation that initiated this very Inquiry in the first place. This is something that
we should all recognize in advance, and it's doubtful that justice will ever be served
in the death of Robert Dziekanski.

Some good may come out of this death though, but it'll be small comfort to the Family
and Friends of Robert Dziekanski. The realization that the "Police policing the Police"
doesn't work, and yet is happening everyday, and has for many years. The "Public
Complaints Commission" is most places is a renamed entity formerly know as the
"Police Complaints Commission" with a name change purely for optics, and the new
entities are staffed with the exact same personal and policies as before the name
change. These Commissions are not unbiased Public oversight by any means what so
ever. Some jurisdictions like Ontario are at the front of the line of change in trying to
alter this for the better, but most have done nothing but changed a name for optics.

The system really doesn't work, and is there for appearances sake in most places to
simply rubber stamp the results of the "Police policing the Police" except where they
just can't due to extenuating circumstances. Call me a "Crank" or a member of the
"Tinfoil Hat Crowd" if you wish or if it makes you feel better, but I've been through this
system, and know others who have also endured the revictimization of the current
broken "Public Complaints Commission" and have experienced it first hand long
before Robert Dziekanski lost his life in that airport in Vancouver.

The one Hero out of this who situation with Robert Dziekanski is the unlikely person of
Paul Pritchard. He was just a member of society (the 'Mob') who not only witnessed this
death, but happened to the tool on hand to record what really happened. That doesn't
make him a Hero though. Once the video was confiscated with the promise that it would
be returned to him within days once it was copied, he was later told that it wouldn't be
returned to him for years, if ever. Paul Pritchard then had to make a choice, and that's
what makes him a Hero in my book. Mr. Pritchard didn't fade into the background in
order to not make himself a target, but retained a Lawyer and went to court to retrieve
his video, and then released it publicly so that some sort of justice might actually have a
chance to take place in the death of Robert Dziekanski. That Guy deserves recognition
for his bravery. That's a real David & Goliath situation where I'm assuming most of us
would have taken the path of least resistance in order to not be singled out for future
harassment. If you think that doesn't happen because you haven't experienced it
yourself or through those you know, good for you, because none of us (the 'mob' we
call society) should have to know that it happens and is a very real concern.

Paul Pritchard deserves whatever the highest civilian recognition happens to be that
we could honor him with for his actions in retrieving this video record that we have all
now seen.

 

[Spade]

Absolutely, Ron! Besides the English translation of "Maintiens le Droit" is simply "Uphold the Law." Nothing noble like "Serve and Protect."

 

[Tonington]

Here, here!

+1 for that Ron.

 

[Colpy]

Absolutely, Ron! Besides the English translation of "Maintiens le Droit" is simply "Uphold the Law." Nothing noble like "Serve and Protect."

Actually it is "Maintain the Right" , which is a noble position......unfortunately ignored here......

 

[darkbeaver]

Exellent piece Ron. They aren't our Mounties anymore are they?

 

[JLM]

"Paul Pritchard deserves whatever the highest civilian recognition happens to be that we could honor him with for his actions in retrieving this video record that we have all now seen. "- You bet Ron. I've just one footnote to add. I wasn't singling out Mr. Robinson on account of this incident alone. Maybe it's not common knowledge right across Canada but Mr. Robinson since that incident has other issues.. He was involved in a motor accident where a motorcyclist was killed and temporarily left the scene, returning to the scene later to flunk the breathalyser, but was never charge with D.U.I. just other less serious charges. A public "uproar" is evolving over him not facing the D.U.I. charge.

 

[lone wolf]

This whole mess lays wide open the truth in you-lie-and-I'll-swear-to-it. I feel for good cops everywhere.

 

[Spade]

Actually it is "Maintain the Right" , which is a noble position......unfortunately ignored here......

What is "the right"?

I agree the popular English translation of the French motto is "Maintain the Right" but what does "le droit" mean? Anyway, my point is that the motto was fancied up for English ears to obscure the actual meaning.

 

[Spade]

Maintiens le Droit = Uphold the Law
RCMP | GRC Detachments in Alberta - Home

 

[Goober]

Maintiens le Droit = Uphold the Law
RCMP | GRC Detachments in Alberta - Home

Brother Spade

I know a few RCMP members and they are so disgusted with what has happened to the Force over that last 10-15 years -

 

[Spade]

When I was a tad, we all wanted to be a member of the RNWMP.