Taser International lawyer testifies
Author: Jeremy Hainsworth
Oct 14, 2009
A lawyer for Taser International said Tuesday its conducted-energy weapon was not responsible for the death of a Polish immigrant at Vancouver International Airport two years ago as a public inquiry wrapped up its final day of hearings.
The death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski — who was shocked by police five times at the Vancouver airport in 2007 — was widely seen around the world after a bystander filmed it.
Taser International lawyer David Neave told a public inquiry there is no evidence that the Taser device contributed to his death.
Retired Justice Thomas R. Braidwood said he will issue his findings early in 2010. The commissioner can make findings of misconduct against the officers and make recommendations to avoid similar deaths.
Dziekanski, who spoke only Polish, apparently had become upset after waiting 10 hours at the airport for his mother.
Four officers responded to emergency calls about a man throwing furniture and breaking glass in the airport's international arrivals lounge.
They used the Taser on Dziekanski moments after their arrival.
Neave told the inquiry that an autopsy showed signs of chronic alcoholism and speculated that he could have experienced a cardiac arrhythmia, which would be consistent with so-called in-custody death syndrome.
However, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were told on Friday to stop aiming their Taser's at the heart and chest, after Taser International raised concerns about its weapons causing cardiac arrest.
Police were instead told to aim Tasers at the abdomen, legs or back of people they want to subdue.
Taser International issued the directive at the end of September, saying that cutting back on chest shots "avoids the controversy about whether (electronic control devices) do or do not affect the human heart."
As Neave spoke, Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski, sighed heavily.
The police officer who repeatedly zapped Dziekanski testified earlier he believed the man intended to attack officers with a stapler.
Intense criticism of the death helped lead Canada's federal police to announce it will no longer use the Taser against suspects who are merely resisting arrest.
All four police officers in the 2007 case were cleared of criminal charges, with a prosecutor saying their use of force was reasonable. None of the officers had spoken publicly about the death until the inquiry.
Two other officers testified they felt threatened by Dziekanski.
Last week, the lawyer representing the Polish government asked the commissioner to make "significant findings of misconduct" against the officers.
Lawyer Don Rosenbloom accused police of blatant wrongdoing in the death.