Greg Weston (Sun Media, Editorial) – As the inquiry into the shameful RCMP stun-gun death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport increasingly becomes a parade of Mounties up to their tunics in horse manure, at issue is far more than shocks, lies and videotape.
It is about just how badly broken the federal force has become, and the lasting damage to both our justice system and the public’s faith in law and order.
For most Canadians, the Dziekanski inquiry long ago stopped being about what four Mounties armed with 250,000 volts did to a hapless Polish traveller who arrived at Vancouver Airport on Oct. 14, 2007, to visit his mom.
All those sickening details of his final seconds with the RCMP welcoming party are on the now famous amateur video shot by a private citizen who thankfully happened on the scene.
Instead, the inquiry is all about the Mounties trying to explain why they repeatedly zapped a confused man holding a stapler, and writhing on the floor.
And when it was all over and Dziekanski was dead, how was it the national police force, sworn to uphold the truth, “misinformed” the public about the deadly encounter?
Last month, the inquiry heard RCMP testimony so at odds with the video of Dziekanski’s death that most ordinary folk must have wondered, just how stupid do they think the public is?
This past week, the force finally admitted what has been apparent since the video was first pried from RCMP clutches (under the threat of legal action) weeks after the tragedy.
“We found that there was some information that was provided and made public that was not accurate,” RCMP Sgt. Tim Shields told reporters outside the inquiry room last week.
“For those inaccuracies, we apologize and we are sorry.” Talk about too little too late.
Some of those “inaccuracies” included such minor issues as depicting Dziekanski as a raging crazy person who had been struggling with three police officers, swinging an object over his head, when he was downed by two jolts from the Taser.
Turns out he had a stapler at his side (not overhead), and his only contact with the Mounties was after he was on the floor in pain from the first of five (not two) 50,000-volt hits, and four (not three) burly cops piled on him, one on his neck.
So much misinformation from police involved in the incident might have explained how the RCMP media relations officers came to feed the same crock to reporters and the public.
But last week, one of those officers admitted he and a colleague from the PR department had watched the video before briefing the media.
RECORD NOT CORRECTED
They were later ordered by a superior officer not to correct the record, supposedly to protect potential evidence, including the video.
RCMP Commissioner William Elliott recently asked the public not to jump to any conclusions, and to have sympathy for his position.
All of which can only damage the image and morale of a force already in the dumps after years of misguided management from the commissioner’s office down.
Imagine how embarrassing and demoralizing the flim-flam from the Dziekanski inquiry must be for all the devoted men and women who serve with distinction on the national force.
But the effects of this sordid affair go far beyond the RCMP.
Every day in courtrooms across the country, citizens accused of all manner of wrongdoing have their fates decided in large part by the word of the cops.
Police being truthful is obviously a cornerstone of our legal system, essential to keep the scales of justice balanced and fair to accused, victims and society alike.
It is equally important that the cops be seen to be telling the truth — a society that loses trust in the police, quickly loses respect for the law.
Unfortunately, no matter how the Dziekanski inquiry ends, it is unlikely most Canadians will take away a lasting impression of cops telling the whole truth and nothing but.
Let’s face it: Were it not for the amateur video, there is a good chance Dziekanski’s death would have been quietly filed as another routine case of police using a Taser to defend themselves in the line of duty.
Last fall, on the eve of the inquiry, Commissioner Elliott said his force was “anxious to participate to the fullest extent possible.
“We cannot provide effective policing services to communities without the support of those communities … We have to be held accountable.”
A good place to start might be a shower of pink slips, or one obvious resignation.
I am sure the fact they are and will be around for a long time causes you great discomfort. No wish to join and clean them up from this inside?
Let him who desires peace prepare for war.
Flavius Vegetius Renatus
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
0 
1
In the 12 step program they first must admit they have a problem… that old PRIDE must be SLAPPED down before a new man can EMERGE…. fat chance of this happening on a volunteer basis here.
They pride themselves to much on being right to ever admit they are not.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
1 
0
Taoist wisdom for the RCMP to study:
A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having actually admitted it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults as his most benevolent teachers.
-Laozi
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
0 
1
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in
the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”
Ezekiel 25:17.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
0 
1
Your point is well taken. Thank you for mentioning it.
The golden rule as it is often called is found in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus also taught the disciples the Lord’s Prayer.
In the New International Version the passage you precis is found in Matthew Chapter 7, Verse 12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Just about every religion has a commandment to its followers to treat others as one would like to be treated oneself.
How much preferable would it be if the 4 RCMP officers had but treated Robert thus. Probably Robert would be alive and enjoying time with his mother. The Officers who presided over his death would not be marked by infamy which doubtless will hound them to the end of their days. And this festering wound would not have been inflicted on the RCMP.
And whether you applaud or criticize the force everyone would be better off if the police had followed Matthew 7:12 that fateful night.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
1 
0
An Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth.
(Old Testament)
Forgive if you have something against someone and pray for those who dispitefully use you and persecute you.
Love God and Love People and if you do you get to do it all over again…
(New Testament)
All this is true but we still need to clean up the HOUSE sometimes too>>> Amen!
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
1 
0
You forgot the one your mum and dad used to tell you from the same age. Do unto others…..
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
0 
1
A Man named Robert Fulghum wrote a book titled “All I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten”. It was about relationships and it was premised on the idea that the values we live out in our daily lives determine not only how we treat others but also how the world sees, understands, values and treats each one of us.
Here are a few of the core values and standards Fulghum reflected upon:
Play Fair.
Don’t hit people.
Clean up your own mess.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
At first glance you might say these are rather childish. Sure, they’re nice to teach your children or your grandchildren, but really…do they actually apply to adult life?
Perhaps. Maybe some of them even explain why the minds and hearts of many Canadians and indeed observers in other countries are so hardened to the national police force in the wake of Robert Dziekanski’s death at the hands of the RCMP.
I don’t know about you but I expect perfection from nobody. In fact I’m astounded by modestly competent performance from anybody. And if they achieve such modest competence several times in a row I am in awe of their greatness. So I am not asking for the RCMP to achieve perfection no one else can.
It’s also true that I don’t expect god-awful techni-colour cluster f—s from people with the powers and weaponry of the police.
The RCMP behaves with demonstrable distinction on many occasions. And on some others it behaves badly…ask anyone in small town Canada and the skeletons are well known.
And sometimes it has a meltdown which leaves one to wonder if an evil spirit has infiltrated the spirit of the Taliban cross bred with the Reichssicherheitshauptamt into the odd RCMP thug.
Even when that happens there is a way out. Remember that guy Fulghum?
Take a look at his learnings from Kindergarten. Ask if the RCMP had employed some of them in an honest disclosure in the early briefings it gave, if it had the common sense to admit a big problem that everyone BUT the RCMP admitted, if it set out to clean up the mess (and maybe revisit whether some or all of the YVR4 should be continuing a career in policing), and if it said it was really sorry, what then?
Surely no one believes acts of openness and contrition would have any but a good effect? Once the video was out there were no more secrets to keep and no more untruths to prop up. For crying out loud, anyone who looked could see the unfolding of a tragedy.
On the contrary, the lies, denials, and the defense of the indefensible by tactics so shameful they heap more damage on the RCMP make it look like the managers of the RCMP response have determined to pile themselves and the perpetrators into a cruiser and aim at the nearest bridge abutment as fast as the Crown Vic will go.
So now we have an unsavoury residue left to us. Trust respect and confidence in the RCMP have gone south…way south!
Belief in the honesty and ability of the RCMP to ethically manage crises of potentially major misconduct by its officers has evaporated.
And now we want vengeance in the form of pink slips…not just a few mind you, but a “shower” or a resignation.
Should have done like Fulghum suggests. But it’s too late now.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
1 
0
If you cant beat them Alcan, you should join them and clean them out from the inside. There are no age limits, no discrimination in size, you apparently can have a criminal record of sorts, they like a lot of hyperbole, you don’t have to be a citizen, and they pay well. What more could you want?
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
0 
1
From the TOP DOWN they LIE Lie, lie and the sad thing is that we pay them to do so too trusting they will police themselves but time has shown they hnestly can’t.
Yes there needs to be a shower of pink slips because in my opinion there’s to much horse manure and the mess seems to be a mile high.
We should have patience? It’s really just about job security and by the way it’s to late, clean them up.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
1 
0