RCMP told paramedics Dziekanski only Tasered once

Gerry Bellett, Vancouver, B.C. (Canwest News Service) – A paramedic called to the Vancouver International Airport after Robert Dziekanski went unconscious said the lead RCMP officer told him the Polish immigrant was Tasered only once.

Allan Maciak told the Braidwood inquiry, which is investigating Mr. Dziekanski’s October 2007 death, that RCMP Cpl. Monty Robinson didn’t tell him that the Polish immigrant had been hit by a Taser five times.

Mr. Maciak said Thursday he could clearly see that Mr. Dziekanski had turned blue as he lay on the floor surrounded by RCMP officers and Richmond firefighters.

The Polish immigrant was dead when he arrived at the scene, Mr. Maciak said.

The Polish-Canadian community is demanding that a “special independent prosecutor” be appointed to investigate Mr. Dziekanski’s death, due to a growing gap between the RCMP version of events and video evidence.

Cpl. Robinson has admitted he asked to “change” his evidence after viewing a video of the death shot by a bystander.

The inquiry heard that in his initial report, Cpl. Robinson claimed 12 times that the Polish immigrant swung a stapler at the officers.

This report, along with those of his fellow officers, was proved wrong by the video of Mr. Dziekanski’s death.

“I was mistaken but I was telling the truth. I sort of blended the whole interaction with him,” he told the inquiry Monday.

None of the four Mounties involved in Mr. Dziekanski’s death have been charged.

Cpl. Robinson admitted Wednesday that he shouldn’t have spoken to Dziekanski in English since he knew the 40-year-old traveller didn’t speak the language.

Cpl. Robinson, who agreed that Mr. Dziekanski was initially calm and compliant with police, said he asked him in English to move away from his luggage and put his hands on a nearby counter.

The inquiry, headed by retired judge Thomas Braidwood, heard that while Cpl. Robinson told Mr. Dziekanski to put his hands on the counter, another officer was telling him to find his passport and identification.

A lawyer for the Polish government suggested that Mr. Dziekanski then threw his hands up in the air in resignation, but Cpl. Robinson disagreed, saying that it was a sign of his refusal to comply with the command.

“He didn’t put his hands on the counter,” he said.

In testimony heard earlier this week, Cpl. Robinson said that the Polish immigrant “didn’t give us the opportunity” to warn him before he was Tasered, as per RCMP policy.

“It wasn’t tactically possible,” Cpl. Robinson said Tuesday.

Cpl. Robinson said that Dziekanski grabbed a stapler and threatened the officers.

When the man took a step toward police, Cpl. Robinson told his colleague to fire a Taser.

“I thought he was going to hit me with the stapler,” Cpl. Robinson said.

When asked why he told Const. Kwesi Millington to deploy his Taser less than 30 seconds after the officers arrived at the scene, Cpl. Robinson again cited time constraints.

The inquiry heard Tuesday that Robinson told B.C.’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team that he may have caused Mr. Dziekanski to go unconscious by kneeling on the man as he lay face-down, following five Taser hits by Const. Millington.

The inquiry also heard that Cpl. Robinson, who the other officers testified was responsible for making sure Mr. Dziekanski was alive, was not certified in first aid.

Cpl. Robinson, who said he was “continuously monitoring” Mr. Dziekanski’s breathing, has not been qualified to administer first aid since 2002.

Mr. Dziekanski had become agitated after spending more than 24 hours travelling and 10 hours stranded at the airport.

In October,Cpl. Robinson, 38, was suspended with pay after facing charges in a car accident that killed 21-year-old motorcyclist, Orion Hutchinson.

Robinson, who was off-duty, faces charges of impaired driving causing death and exceeding the legal limit. He had his driver’s licence suspended for 90 days.