Five minutes after this picture was taken of this man, he was dead. He was killed by a taser attack, and an RCMP knee to the neck after he was completely doubled over on the floor writhing in pain from the electronic jolt resonating through his body. He vibrated and yelled in agony after he was shot not once, but twice by an over zealous RCMP officer.........one of four who had arrived to "deal" with this distraught tourist from Poland. Mr. Dziekanski, 40, did not speak English, and had been at the airport for more than 10 hours, 6 of which he spent in the baggage handling area wandering around unnoticed. UNNOTICED! No one took the time to approach this man, who most likely was in a state of anxiety and for some reason disoriented to a point where he couldn't find his way to the exit area where his mother was anxiously waiting for him. If he looked anything like he did in this picture, I would think he wouldn't be blending into the hoardes of travellers stopping to pick up their luggage and leaving.
What does this say about the security of the Vancouver Airport?? If a man can wander through the passenger arrivals areas for 10 hours after disembarking from his plane without anyone noticing, how safe is this airport? In this age where airport security is supposed to have been beefed and tightened........and a man walks around aimlessly for 10 freaking hours??!!
These questions however are minor compared to the other unanswered questions.................
Mr. Dziekanski was killed on October 14th. The details of his death at the time seemed to indicate that he was completely out of control, confrontational, dangerous.........hence the need to taser him twice. Fortunately, his story and the truth was captured by a witness who video taped the incident.........from the moment of this picture to his tragic death. Like millions of others, I sat in horror watching the video on the National news last night.
I am at a loss for words to describe it.
It was true that this man was agitated at the beginning of the video. He threw the table he was holding. He three a computer, while talking in his mother tongue. At the same time, 4 RCMP officers (there original story indicated there were 3 of them................I counted there were 4) approached him, and Mr. Dziekanski seemed to calmed down. As he backed up to a counter, facing the officers and not acting threatening or confrontational at all.............simply upset and bewildered.......he was tasered which brought him to his knees right away.
I have never seen the physical response to a human being tasered. It's sickening and completely inhumane. Why they thought they had to zap him again is completely beyond me when they didn't have a reason to taser him in the first place.
His mother had been told that there were no records that he had gotten off the plane?? How can that be? She went home believing that he missed the flight, only to be woken by a 2 in the morning phone call from the airport authority to return to the airport. Unbeknownst to her, she arrived to identify her dead son........and to hear a made up cover up story of how her son was completely out of control deranged and died during a struggle with Canada's finest.
This is a story the RCMP will not be able to cover up. It's been caught on camera. Though they are doing their "very best" to spin it like they are known to do, its not washing away the blood. Tonight listening to AS it Happens on the CBC, one V.P. (where the hell are the Presidents/CEO's to deal with this??? Pansies!) after another stammer and stall and gag over their own words...........
They are going to get to the truth of the matter. They are never going to let this happen again. They are sorry and feel so badly for the mother. The video is only one side of the story.....an investigation will allow the parties involved to share their side........OH EXCEPT MR. DZIEKANSKI. HE'S DEAD!
Good thing we can count on a thorough inquiry and investigation into this unforgettable incident. What? Is it true?? The RCMP investigate themselves?? Sounds like a big wanking circle to me.
May this man rest in peace and may his dignity be posthumously restored.
May tasers be banned forever. They are glorified torture devices.
AND, may a whole bunch of VP's, CEO's, RCMP officers and a few baggage security staff land in the unemployment line at their local Human Resources office. Let's hope they dont have to wait too long for service. You never know what could happen.
12 comments:
Amen.
What a terrible tragedy for him and his family.
Often the police are untrained to deal with those who have emotional or mental problems, and in this case, perhaps those who just are different. A knee jerk reaction is made.
Like you, I watched the video in horror, wondering how it could come to this, how our disconnectedness could put any one of us in a similar position in future.
I thought about all the times I've flown through that very airport, all the times I've wandered terminals for hours on end, not speaking the local language, not knowing what the hell I was supposed to do to fill in the time while I figured out how to get myself home. What if I had sent the wrong signal to the wrong security agent?
He needed help. They didn't help him. They killed him.
Imagine how it would have ended if someone had tried to put an arm around him or give him a hug.
It's a loss that didn't have to happen. It sickens me to even think about the individuals who couldn't use their sense of humanity to ensure a happier outcome.
Barbara....I agree. More training on mental health is definately needed. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a history of mental health issues. Unfortunately, they will now be used as an excuse for doing what they did. In fact its starting already. On the news this morning, the "official" statement was that he died of "Excited Delirium." It's not something I have ever seen in the DSM IV manual.
Carmi. Watching the video, I thought the man looked like he was calming down when the police arrived. They didn't wait more than 1/2 a minute to decide to use the taser. They most definately should've tried a more humane approach WITH A SMILE! If they had been able to make a connection, they couldve asked for his passport to find out where he was from (and then know the language he spoke) and go from there.
Tasers should be THE last resort if used at all!
Excited Delirium.....my ass.
Saw the whole video.
The death is a tragedy. Sad.
Am on my way out, but for now, I'll say I'll be looking forward to seeing the progression and outcome of the inquiry.
One question: Remember the young man who was tasered after simply asking John Kerry an inconvenient question? He wasn't any more threatening than the Polish man, perhas even less so, in my view, from what I saw in the two different videos. There were plenty of officers who could've simply grabbed him and hauled him away, same as with the Polish man. But they tasered him just like that, again, same thing. Isn't this wrong, too? Is it also a sign of intolerance? Intolerance of political incorrectness? Just like fear of a guy who looks for all the world like he might, as police are, of course, trained to worry, be a terrorist or crazed, possibly armed lunatic, unfortunately, given his behavior and the setting?
What kind of training do the police receive? Are they taught to be quickly aggressive like in the tasering incidents? And are they taught to treat certain persons differently, even given the same circumstances?
There are many questions I have to ask about the police and their training and the obvious fact that they take orders from politicians which clearly violate peoples' constitutional rights, and tend to target "politically incorrect" folks far more than "politically correct" folks. I've blogged on such incidents.
And who can forget Sergeant Pepper from APEC 1997? He didn't even let the moonbats have any time to obey his order to leave, and they were actually beginning to peacefully obey... but the old nutcase nevertheless sprays everyone in sight, including the CBC cameraman! Again, what the hell kind of training are they given? And what kind of political orders are they given, including illegal, unconstitutional orders?!
You'd think this was Burma or China or Saudi Arabia sometimes, the way our police sometimes act, eh?
By the way, it appeared that the Vancouver airport doesn't have many employees at all and ought to be investigated itself as contributing to such a situation and death via negligence. There were no workers to provide whatever service the Polish man was waiting for.
Is the Vancouver airport in such financial dire straits that it cannot afford to hire anyone to operate the facility and serve the customers? WTF?
Many questions!
I am always leery when I hear stories such as this where individuals are killed at the hands of a police force. I am not too naive to assume that there are not some individuals who are "out of control," but I wonder if our police forces are trained well enough to refrain from using deadly force even when provoked.
What a tragedy.
hey Sentinel.....good questions....I would like to know the answers to them as well. I am very interested to know what the training is and the protocol for using the taser so quickly. The man was unarmed and it looked like he was calming down.
I do recall the Kerry incident, and the one in NB when the guy was tasered 8 times and died ALSO from this dreaded "excited delirium..." whatever the hell that is.
And the APEC pepper spray....interesting that happening in Lotusland too.
The Vancouver airport definately has some explaining to do! Unbelievable that no one approached this man to help him. It makes me wonder how prepared they will be for the onslaught of the 2010 Olympics???
Dustin.....me too. The reaction to this particular case has been swift and very angry. It was probably the first time most Canadians have seen someone actually being tasered. The very idea that we were witnessing a man's violent death has left the majority of Canadians (I suspect) with the same questions and the same feelings that this should never ever happen again.....AND that the ones responsible should be charged.
Unfortunately, it won't happen. the spin bs has already started......putting the blame on the victim.....he didn't die of the taser, rather it was some delirium thing he experienced.
whatever.......we know the truth. we saw it.
Excited delirium... hmmm....
Sounds like what Far Left "demonstrators" get a lot. They're lucky there's not enough cops to taser all of them, so they get to act as crazy-insane in public as they want. Mob mentality. Indoctrinated in lies. Told to say crazy things that aren't true. And then there's demonstrations by radical Islamic supremacists we've seen where they hold up signs threatening the Free World with mushroom clouds. Interesting how when we watch those videos, there isn't a single police officer in sight!
It seems that it's only safe to act with "excited delirium" as long as one's in a mob of other crazed fools, doesn't it? If you're alone and "demonstrate" alone, you just might get your ass zapped... especially when asking Democratic Senators embarrassing, inconvenient questions, the kind that aren't "planted" like we now know the likes of HIllary Clinton have happen...
Or being by oneself and mentally disturbed at an airport...
Of course, it's far, far worse in the non-free world. Imagine what the Chinese Communists would've done to the guy at the airport. Let me assure you- they'd have just shot him in the head. I've seen them do that. Same as in Iran, although they might just beat the hell out of one, letting one die of brain injury... and one didn't do anything but take pictures...
"Told to say crazy things that aren't true."
What - like Iraq was a just war?
Gday Dana! Good to catch up. Sorry Ive been a bit absent for a while:)
Saw this on our news too. Shocking.
How much did this fella need the kingdom of love supreme? Rather than the knee jerk control of an empire so fragile that it must fortify itself and lash out at any percieved threat. What is so threatening to capitalist democracy, might I ask? Since it is the great utopian hope for us all?
Augustine talked about the two cities. In one, he said, the gate keepers lord it over the subjects, in the other, the subjects serve one another in love. The kingdom of love supreme. Where is it?
You and me, and others can smell it on the breeze, I reckon, and being citizens of the unseen city of love, gives us freedom to stand against shit like this.
Good to catch up! Sorry I havent commented for a while.
If only someone had said "Can I help you sir" when he was wandering around for so long. Then they would have at least discovered that he didn't speak English and could have taken it from there. If someone had been kind to him maybe he wouldn't have been so distressed. If security was supposedly so tight WHY first of all didn't anyone notice that this man was STILL at the baggage handling area?
His poor mother having to come back to the airport only to discover her son had been killed. I wonder if they showed her any compassion or if they treated her the same way they treated her son.
Disgusting.
Sentinel guy.....I wondered where this side of you went to. I'm always astounded how you are able to write in a stream of concious connect the dot way, linking your fav. target topics with any other current event! I bet if you and I got together over some fair trade coffee that our conversation would be the most random ever!
Ok....torture is obviously (and disgustingly) more pronounced in other countries where freedom is short in commodity.
As far as tasering the loonie left? Well, I am not in favour of tasering anyone now that I have seen the results of it. Sorry.
The fact that we live in a country where all opinions are free to express is something we should never mess with.
You're a crazy man, you know that???? Thank God you're looking over our province's biggest port, Mr. Sentinel. I feel safer knowing that.
Leisure.....welcome. I don't know if you have popped in here before, and see that you're a fellow freddy town resident.....your timing to follow Sentinel Guy makes me laugh.
Was Iraq a just war? I think its still going on.
Monk.....good to see your smiling moniker.....good questions. The editorial in the Globe and Mail yesterday (Canada's national paper) came out completely in disgust with our nations finest.....the front page of the weekend edition tells the story of a quiet man who collected maps and information about different countries, especially Canada. He was dedicated to his mother and was determined to move to Vancouver to be with her. She had just moved here to start a cleaning business. Robert Geizanski had never been in trouble with the law, nor had any mental health problems. However, he had spent 5 hours on a train to get to the airport in Poland, then a flight to Vancouver (his first time flying ever) which would've been at least 10 hours, and then 10 hours lost and disoriented in the airport behind the security walls......thinking his mom was going to meet him in the baggage area.
I can't read anymore of his story. It is too painful. Such an innocent he was.
and YES, I will most definately stand up for such shit as this.
ps. don't be a stranger. I'm glad you're back. I've met a few more Aussie bloggers since you commented too! :)
Gypsy.....So many unanswered questions and I'm afraid they will NEVER be answered because then the RCMP would have to admit that they completely and utterly overreacted and fucked up.
According to the news story, his Mother was phoned at her home after the incident and asked to come down to the airport. Not knowing........she arrived to be told that he was dead. Then, she was told that her quiet dedicated son went ballistic, attacked the cops, threatened etc, etc so they had to subdue him. During the taser subduing......he died, most likely from a heart attack.
It was a month later that the video was released (on Thursday). This is when the mother would have learned the truth.....most likely watching it on TV!!!!!!!!!
it makes me sick thinking about what she must be going through. All alone in Vancouver, away from all family in Poland dealing with this??? Who knows how she's being treated right now.
I think the terrorists have already won. We are so afraid that we have lost our capacity to see others as a threat. It makes me very very sad.
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