Vancouver taser death 'a homicide'

Video of incident - screenshot: Paul Pritchard

Dziekanski was tasered by four Canadian police officers after arriving at the airport, and he died at the site of a heart attack.

Nevertheless, the Canadian Press Agency stresses that it is not the prerogative of the BCCS to apportion blame, and that in this context “homicide” is a “neutral term” that means that “the death was caused by the actions of another person.”

Dziekanski, a construction worker, flew to Canada on 13 October 2007.

He was 40 years old, and due to start a new life in the country, as his mother was a Canadian resident.

However, speaking only Polish, Dziekanski struggled to process his immigration forms on arrival, and by the time that he had cleared customs he was in a highly agitated state.

Following an incident in which the Pole damaged property, Dziekanski was tasered by the four police officers. He did not recover from the shocks.

Criminal charges were never brought against the officers for the death, although a 2009 Canadian report concluded that the use of the taser gun was “premature and inappropriate.”

However, all four men are facing charges of perjury relating to the initial evidence they presented. (nh)