Policing the Police

The findings of a report released last week into the tragic Taser-related death of Robert Dziekanski in the Vancouver Airport didn’t surprise me. Most of us had seen the video taken by a bystander, and could appreciate that the response of the RCMP Officers on the scene was inappropriate. Perhaps more significantly, we were aware that their inquiry testimony about the event differed strongly from the facts in the video.

One news commentator indicated that as far as public support, the RCMP has been “bleeding” badly over the last few years. It’s unfortunate that the force, long an iconic symbol of Canada, peaks in its support by Canadians only when some of the members are killed. “Inappropriate response” was a common phrase in the report on the Dziekanski incident, and that labels most difficulties the RCMP has gotten into over the last decade.

The report of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, chaired by Paul Kennedy, pulled no punches in its findings:

Overall, I found that the conduct of the responding members fell short of that expected of members of the RCMP. The members demonstrated no meaningful attempt to de-escalate the situation, nor did they approach the situation with a measured, coordinated and appropriate response.

I do not accept the version of events as presented by the four responding RCMP members. The statements provided by the members are sparse in terms of detail of the events and the thought processes of the members as events unfolded. When tracked against the witness video, the recollections of the members fall short of a credible statement of the events as they actually unfolded. The fact that the members met together prior to providing statements causes me to further question their versions of events.

Constable Millington cycled the CEW (Taser) multiple times against Mr. Dziekanski when those subsequent cycles were not known by him to be necessary for the control of Mr. Dziekanski.

It’s a damning report. Basically it indicates that the tasering of Mr. Dziekanski, particularly five times, was inappropriate to the situation. It further indicated that the officers met inappropriately following the incident, where they had opportunity to arrange their stories. Their version of the unfolding events differed strongly with the video taken, and the report falls just short of saying they lied about the events. When Mr. Dziekanski was in obvious medical distress, proper care was not taken of him, which probably contributed to his death.

Remember that this inquiry and its report comes after Crown Prosecutors have already indicated that the response of the officers was justified, and no charges were laid against them. Three of the officers have already appealed to the Supreme Court to try and ensure that no charges against them come out of the findings of the inquiry. In spite of the clear message of the report, it will not surprise me when no charges are brought up against the officers.

However, while the Canadian courts have not yet seen fit to bring any charges against the officers, the Polish Government, acting in anger for the family of Mr. Dziekanski, has been pushing strongly for action. Their lawyer, present at the hearing, has not been reluctant to brand the officers as “liars”, and even indicated a belief that other RCMP administrative officers contributed to a coverup. Political pressure might yet provoke a backroom push for something being done.

The RCMP, other police forces, and corrections officials, fail to appreciate two significant attitudes of the Canadians they serve. Police officer behavior in the moment of situations like the Robert Dziekanski incident, and the response of their administration following these incidents might be different if Police realized they will not be supported in these two areas. It doesn’t matter if convincing arguments can be made for the police positions. Police forces are support agencies for the citizens of this nation, and their behavior should be in line with the beliefs and values of the citizens.

One: Any survey of Canadians will indicate that the majority of people do not support the use of tasers by police officers. I will guarantee this. Tasers have gotten nothing but bad press since their arrival on the scene, and there is hardly a province in Canada where there has not been an inquiry into the use of them, in many cases provoked by a death allegedly related to their use. Robert Dziekanski was a large man, in a state of extreme distress after spending over ten hours wandering an airport, unable to speak English, failing to find people who were to meet him. However, I still would think that four trained police officers would be able to restrain and subdue him— or better still, be able to communicate with him and de-escalate the situation. Possibly one of them might have taken a black eye in the scuffle (somehow, I feel we pay them for that possibility), but the alternative they chose? Death of Mr. Dziekanski.

Two: Police forces still cling to the notion that the only acceptable way to investigate a police incident is with another police force. This is common practice. Perhaps compelling arguments can be made for this, the most common being that the average person will not have an understanding of police work. Forces have to at some point come to the understanding that this is not acceptable to Canadians. No one trusts it. A look at the tally sheet for police-investigated situations in Quebec alone would give you ample reason not to trust it.

The RCMP, or any other police force in Canada, cannot operate as benevolent dictatorships, acting in our best interests whether we like it or not: “Do not question us. We know what is best. You would not understand.” This is not acceptable to the Canadian people. Democracy has always been founded on the notion that “what is best” is the will of the people. I know that our system of government demonstrates that this is full of holes, certainly imperfect, but it’s something we strive for. We would hope that the RCMP, and other police forces, also have a vague notion of this.

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