RCMP Watch

(Vancouver Province) - A man who recorded the Tasering of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski by RCMP at Vancouver International Airport, and his subsequent death, is suing the police to get his footage back.

Paul Pritchard agreed to lend his video camera and footage to the RCMP when they promised to make a copy and return it to him within 48 hours, a news release from Pritchard’s lawyer Paul Pearson says. However, police later refused to return it.

“I’m upset they’ve gone back on their word and are trying to keep my video from coming out,” Pritchard said.
B.C. RCMP responded that they felt it necessary to keep the video under wraps in order not to compromise the investigation.

Spokesman Cpl. Dale Carr said several witnesses had yet to be interviewed about the incident, and investigators don’t want their version of the events to be influenced by seeing the footage in advance.

“The truth will come out,” said Carr in a news release.

According to Pritchard’s news release, the video contains “excellent quality” footage of Dziekanski’s actions before police arrived, the Tasering, and the aftermath.

Dziekanski, 40, had been invited by his mother, who lives in Kamloops, to settle down in B.C. He arrived in Vancouver on Oct. 13 but spent 12 hours in the airport without being able to connect with his mother, who had come to pick him up. He was in a frenzy and behaving violently when police Tasered him at 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 14. He died minutes later.

“When I saw Mr. Dziekanski’s mother crying on television, I knew I had to get that video back and make sure the public gets an accurate picture of how this happened,” Pritchard said, adding he intends to release it to the media.