Video Raises Questions About Taser Death

Polish Immigrant Stunned At Vancouver Airport By 4 Mounties; Couldn't Speak English

(CBS/AP)  A video of a Polish immigrant being jolted with a police Taser at the Vancouver airport shows the man screaming and writhing in pain on the floor shortly before he dies.

The video, taken by another traveler on Oct. 14, shows four Royal Canadian Mounted Police converging on Robert Dziekanski, who could not speak English and who had languished in the airport arrivals area for 10 hours after his flight arrived last month.

"He's holding a folding table at the door to the arrivals area of Vancouver airport. He's exhausted, confused, and breathing heavily," reports Terry Milewski of the CBC.

After arriving from Poland on his first-ever plane ride, Dziekanski had been waiting 10 hours for his mother, who told him to wait in the baggage area. But she couldn't go in there, couldn't get a message to him and finally went home after being told he never arrived.

On the video, a bystander tried to calm Dziekanski down, but he didn't understand. Then, he picked up a computer and threw it, and then a wooden piece of furniture.

The Polish man appears calm when the police arrive.

The video shows him backing up, raising his hands and turning away before the police stun him with the 50,000-volt Taser, sending him to the floor screaming before he's stunned again and the Mounties pin down his head and limbs to handcuff him.

"Probably the most disturbing part is one of the officers using his leg and his knee to pin his head and his neck against the ground," said Paul Pritchard, who made the video.

Dziekanski then became quiet and died soon after.

"I don't know why it ever became a police incident," said retired Vancouver police Supt. Ron Foyle. "It didn't seem that he made any threatening gestures towards them."

"Not a lot goes on in an airport. So, if you're there and there's an incident, sometimes they might overreact. It looks like that's what happened in Vancouver," aviation expert Michael Boyd said on CBS News' The Early Show Thursday.

The RCMP urged the public not to rush to judgment.

"it is only one piece of evidence and it's one person's view, the viewfinder of one individual," said RCMP Cpl. Dale Carr, adding that something made the Mounties take the action they did.

The lawyer for Diekanski's mother, Walter Kosteckyj, said the release of the video has driven the woman into seclusion.

He said Zofia Cisowski of Kamloops saw part of the video and feels her son was frightened, in distress and looking for help which he never got.

"They have to do something with this killing with that Taser weapon. they should do something because that is killer, people killer," Cisowski told the CBC before going into seclusion.

"You've got to question whether one person standing there with three or four officers is a threat," Boyd told Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "It doesn't look good for the Canadian police right now."

[michaelt302]

What they don''t tell you is, that if the press covered the story each and every time someone was Tasered and came out 100% OK, they would not have space for any other stories at all. But, the media despises law enforcement, so they revel in these exceptional "Death by Taser" stories. They don''t tell you how incredibly rare Taser deaths are, or that in every single case there was a pre-existing illness or injury that lead to death. Being tasered is not fun, but it is certainly not lethal.

[brock2g]

What if the guy had wrestled a gun away from one of the officers and shot someone. Then the question would be why didn''t they taser him. The person who should get in trouble would be the airline representative who told the man''s mother that he was not there. Clearly, the airline didn''t bother to take the time to look for him. The police were just doing their job. The Early Show is clearly liberal in their views, that is why I rarely watch it.

[jenni2007-2009]

My only question is, why 50K volts? Is that much really necessary, especially for an unarmed individual?

[carolynmc2]

I have never seen such a hugely biased report than what I just watched on The Early Show. This horrible reporting is the exact reason why I never watch this program.
Your misguided use of Michael Boyds depiction of what transpired is so grossly misconscrude I could barely make myself watch the entire segment. When and where does a persons actions EVER make them responsible for their own demise. This man clearly showed aggressive tendencies by throwing heavy/dangerous objects around, totally ignored pleading (and yes I believe even though he couldnt understand the words he could tell by the tone of those trying to help him they were NOT a threat)by-standers. Who is to say this person was not hiding a concealed weapon?

Hind sight is 20/20.......but lets say the police didnt intervene as they did and this man pulled out a gun in his desperate condition and killed 5 or 6 innocent by-standers and some of the police before he was forceable brought under control (or killed). Than Michael Boyd would have been on National TV raking over the coals the police and their inept use of getting control of this man while they had the chance.

The police were in a no win situation and clearly its easy now for everyone to condemn their actions to a clearly VOLITAL person. This mans own action led to his death.
SHAME ON THE EARLY SHOW!!!!!!

[jenni2007-2009]

Brock2g, playing the "What if" card is rarely unbiased.

[carolynmc2]

And how Jenni2007 did ANYBODY know if this man was armed or not?
Because this man decided to throw around dangerous objects and not pull a gun out of his jacket doesnt mean one wasnt there.
Your assumption that he wasnt armed could have put in danger EVERYONE within sight of this individual!!

[expatriate07]

He just got off a plane, I SERIOUSLY DOUBT he could get a gun aboard a plane. At least now-a-days anyhow. This is simply the reaction of officials who live in fear propagated by governments that fear their citizens and everyone else. The "terrorists" won a long time ago.

[jenni2007-2009]

CarolynMc2:

A. You''ve taken it out of context. The comment was directed to Brock''s hypothetical quetion of "What if the guy had wrestled a gun away from one of the officers and shot someone," as a defense to his opinion of the Early Show''s liberal views. One biased point to another does not cancel each other out.

B. My original question in all this is why 50K volts, let alone a second time when he is already down, to secure one man by 4 trained police officers. Any way you break that down, its ugly.

[expatriate07]

Well all I am really trying to say, in light of this story, is the everyday citizen has gotten the "poopy" end of the stick in this war against terror. Governments get more power and we are met with less freedom, more tazer.

[carolynmc2]

Brocks hypothetical situation easily could have been what happened and what the police need to react to especially with innocent bystanders in possible harm/deaths way.
The fact the THE EARLY SHOW used Michael Boyd''s view of the situation to give the public the impression the police over reacted is what THE EARLY SHOW likes to do.

Personally it was a fluke I even had TES on as I only watch GMA becuase of TESs horrible, biased reporting.
I cant even believe I took the time to "sign on" to this forum, but thats how dissappointed I was in the reporting of this story.
Got to go change my channel to GMA and watch/listen to some great newscasters!

[braniff77]

Why is Michael Boyd commenting on this like he''s an expert? He''s an aviation consultant. This is a policing issue. Just because it happened in an airport doesn''t mean he''s the authority on this type of event. I have an aviation background too, but I wouldn''t put myself up as an expert on everything that goes on in an airport.

[flreason]

Tasers are a crutch that police are using instead of using people skills. They take less time than negotiation, which makes their use seem the best solution in time-is-money societies. As recent incidents have shown, this is a lethal weapon and should be used with the same discretion that is required when police use a gun. Yes, this man''s aggressive behavior required the police to be concerned for public safety; however, if they had pursued information on him and found he was a foreign national who had been stranded for 10 hours in the airport, maybe their response might have been more appropriate. Short cuts in police work frequent seem to end in long law suits...a lesson that should be part of their training.

[flreason]

Make that "frequently."

[expatriate07]

What happened to the days when cops just kicked your butt, cuffed you, and took you to jail. When did our fearless troopers turn into cowards that stood back and shocked someone to death because they are afraid of the endless possibilities that could lead to their harm. Personally, as a taxpayer, I want cops who aren''t afraid to get hurt- it''s a dangerous job. And they should get payed more too. And as to the argument that people who die from tazers always have a preexisting condition, thats why they should use tazers as a last resort not a way to make a hard job easier. They just needed to put the beat-down on this guy and get him out of there.

[allunknowing]

How many people with the last name ending in -ski can report on this story?!?!?!

Seems kinda biased to me.

I''ve never had a problem picking up relatives from the airport. Maybe it''s because I''m intelligent or maybe it''s because I know the laws and abide by them.

[creeper00]

Shades of Carole Ann Gotbaum.

I''m disappointed. We assume things like this will happen in the police state called the United States of America. Somehow I expected better of Canada.

[wbwilhite]

Perhaps every new entrant into North America should be supplied with a phrase book which includes self-help pictures and phrases such as, "Don''t tase me, Bro''!" Clearly, in the presence of predators with tasers, the herd instinct should apply. Do NOT stand out! Fade into the crowd and be very very normal. Keep a low profile. And if all else fails, go to the help desk (or a police officer) with maximum timidity.

[candide777]

It''s an unfortunate incident, but when someone is throwing furniture at an airport and looks to be a pretty good-sized fellow, I think it was reasonable for the police to assume he was dangerous and that he might hurt or even kill someone in the airport. When the authorities approach and you''ve been acting the fool, the best thing is to get down on your knees and ask forgiveness. He turned and ran -- what if they let him go and he ended up killing someone? It''s unfortunate, and they may have over-reacted, but they were right to assume he was dangerous and to take necessary steps to subdue him. Florida was a different situation all together, that student was merely exercising is freedom of speech, not being violent -- those officers need to be fired.

[shortyfudpuc]

We should feel safe with police officers responding in this manner. Zey were just trying to stop ze terriost from mahking a problem for ze other traflers in ze vorld. Vhat vith all the news stories telling us that ze terriosts are hiding behind efvery door. Ve must keep ze people informed of such activities. Just because they killed an innocent person, whats the bigdeal? Unless it happens to be you.

[rudy654-2009]

"As recent incidents have shown, this is a lethal weapon and should be used with the same discretion that is required when police use a gun."Posted by flreason at 09:42 AM

Indeed you are right. A student used a stun gun on another student in school and that student suffered chest pains for weeks. The other student was charged with using a deadly weapon. I found it interesting that in recent cases on the news, so-called police officers came on here to say that they weren''t deadly weapons and a safe alternative. What they are is an excuse to use excess force when other means were simply available. This case illustrates this very well.

[shortyfudpuc]

We should feel safe with police officers responding in this manner. Zey were just trying to stop ze terriost from mahking a problem for ze other traflers in ze vorld. Vhat vith all the news stories telling us that ze terriosts are hiding behind efvery door. Ve must keep ze people informed of such activities. Just because they killed an innocent person, whats the bigdeal? Unless it happens to be you.

[magoo2u1]

How many people with the last name ending in -ski can report on this story?!?!?!

Seems kinda biased to me.

I''''ve never had a problem picking up relatives from the airport. Maybe it''''s because I''''m intelligent or maybe it''''s because I know the laws and abide by them.

maybe you speak the language and maybe they would get a message to your relative. They told the mother he wasn''t there. THEY LIED. No one bothered to get a translator. 10 hours.
Your an idiot and a bigot. How many -ot''s do claim?
you are unknowing.

[conart11]

ja i agree ve must stop die terrorist!...police must have ze power to kill anyone! new world order above all! anyvone mit panik or somevon that disobeys ve must destroy dem immeadiately! vote for der herr giuliani! might is right! take away all rights...die big bruder vill protect u! ja ja freedom verboten!

[magoo2u1]

He put his hands on his head and turned around so they could frisk from the sounds of it. They should have shot the b a s ta rd with a gun!

[jenni2007-2009]

No one has yet to comment about the 50 THOUSAND volts that they used - TWICE. Anyone know why such an extreme amount is "necessary" in general? The electric chair only takes 2500-ish (from what I''ve read).

[agarwal1]

You STUPID people, STILL you dont understand that ..

POLICE ARE A GANG OF MURDERERS

POLICE GET PLEASURE IN WATCHING PEOPLE CRY WITH PAIN

POLICE GET EXTREME SATISFACTION WHEN THEY INFLICT EXTREME PAIN INTO AN INNOCENT MEN.

POLICE FIND IT EXTRA PLEASURABLE TO SLOWLY MURDERING A PERSON WHO CANNOT UNDERSTAND ENGLISH

POLICE FIND IT EXTRA PLEASURABLE TO SLOWLY MURDERING A PERSON WHO UNFORTUNATELY METALLY CHALLANGED.

POLICE NOTHING BUT A GANG OF EVEL MONSTERS DEVIL RUTHLESS HUMAN FLESH EATING MURDERES.

GOD, PLEASE HELP US FROM THIS KIND OF POLICE!!!!

[bouiar]

The police are saying that the video is only part of the evidence and only one persons view. From that view I have seen enough to be scared to death of police. If they say that his behavior was threatening enough to warrant the use of a taser then anyone displaying a public outburst fueled by frustration should watch out.

[agarwal1]

You STUPID people, STILL you dont understand that ..

POLICE ARE A GANG OF MURDERERS

POLICE GET PLEASURE IN WATCHING PEOPLE CRY WITH PAIN

POLICE GET EXTREME SATISFACTION WHEN THEY INFLICT EXTREME PAIN INTO AN INNOCENT MEN.

POLICE FIND IT EXTRA PLEASURABLE TO SLOWLY MURDERING A PERSON WHO CANNOT UNDERSTAND ENGLISH

POLICE FIND IT EXTRA PLEASURABLE TO SLOWLY MURDERING A PERSON WHO UNFORTUNATELY METALLY CHALLANGED.

POLICE NOTHING BUT A GANG OF EVEL MONSTERS DEVIL RUTHLESS HUMAN FLESH EATING MURDERES.

GOD, PLEASE HELP US FROM THIS KIND OF POLICE!!!!


I HOPE AND PREY THAT THIS KIND OF POLICE DIE WITH ALL KIND OF CANCER AND EXTREME PAIN WITH VERY SLOW DEATH!!

I HOPE AND PREY THAT THIS KIND OF POLICE DIE WITH ALL KIND OF CANCER AND EXTREME PAIN WITH VERY SLOW DEATH!!

[anonbene]

poor ***

[grazinggoat]

...But, the media despises law enforcement, so they revel in these exceptional "Death by Taser" stories. They don''''t tell you how incredibly rare Taser deaths are, or that in every single case there was a pre-existing illness or injury that lead to death. Being tasered is not fun, but it is certainly not lethal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by MichaelT302 at 08:50 AM : Nov 15, 2007

-First of, all my regards and condolescence to his family, relatives and friends.

-What this guy needed most is some fresh air, which he did not. Instead he''s benn pinned down with feet and knees... causing a panicky asphyxiation most probably combined with cardiac arrhytmia. Autopsy will tell.

-If you are upset at a situation and you express your frustration in a public place is no good. Not good in the eyes of whom? Not good to yell, not good to show emotions. Come on! Our society (not only ours, but obviously others seem to take a hit as well) a direct result of the fear and boogieman policies of our moronic adminstration). We all need to have a white sheep behavior follow up in rows and lines, one after the other... with no word saying. Black sheep will be tasered, killed if necessary... tolerance level has dipped down now, because of our moronic policies... This is frightening.

[tootrue2007]

having had the dubious pleasure (but by no means an exclusive entree, apparently) of enjoying a handcuffed beating from a closely-neighbouring rcmp detachment; all i can say is "yes, you continue to be uniformed cowards". how the hell nelson eddy ever got laid, i know not. what was that cop doing with the club again? oh, maybe he was the "fourth man" who wasn''t there.

[bouiar]

Along with the police, the airport workers should feel ashamed for not making a good enough effort to help this man befor the situation reached the level it did. We are so quick to come down on the police in this case ( and rightly so ) but we must also recognize the neglect by airport staff.

[braniff77]

I just watched the video on the CBS site (by the way, CBS, the description under the video said it happened "moments" after he got off the plane. So was it moments or 10 hours? Get your facts right please). Anyway, it looked to me like he was standing with his hands up when they fired the taser, not running or acting violently. If 4 big cops can''t take down one guy without firing at someone who has no weapon, that''s pretty pathetic. The cops in Phoenix didn''t fire at Mrs. Gotbaum, who was acting more irrationally than this guy.

[newsjunky5]

CarolynMc2 wrote: "Who is to say this person was not hiding a concealed weapon?"
When you''ve got a group of police confronting someone like this, believe me, one of them has his pistol ready and is watching for the subject if he pulls out a weapon. Nothing wrong with that. They didn''t need to escalate to the level they did, or didn''t understand the danger of tazers. "What if" Deizkanski knew the cure for cancer.

[bouiar]

I agree, he was also in one of the most secure parts of the airport. I dont think he brought a conscealed weapon over from Poland

[hillaryin08]

dont taze me bro!, anyone know where I can get one of those t-shirts or bumper stickers?

[agarwal1]

POLICE ARE A GANG OF MURDERERS

POLICE GET PLEASURE IN WATCHING PEOPLE CRY WITH PAIN

POLICE GET EXTREME SATISFACTION WHEN THEY INFLICT EXTREME PAIN INTO AN INNOCENT MEN.

POLICE FIND IT EXTRA PLEASURABLE TO SLOWLY MURDERING A PERSON WHO CANNOT UNDERSTAND ENGLISH

POLICE FIND IT EXTRA PLEASURABLE TO SLOWLY MURDERING A PERSON WHO UNFORTUNATELY METALLY CHALLANGED.

POLICE NOTHING BUT A GANG OF EVEL MONSTERS DEVIL RUTHLESS HUMAN FLESH EATING MURDERES.

GOD, PLEASE HELP US FROM THIS KIND OF POLICE!!!!


I HOPE AND PREY THAT THIS KIND OF POLICE DIE WITH ALL KIND OF CANCER AND EXTREME PAIN WITH VERY SLOW DEATH!!

I HOPE AND PREY THAT THIS KIND OF POLICE DIE WITH ALL KIND OF CANCER AND EXTREME PAIN WITH VERY SLOW DEATH!!

[harp1963]

Last summer my kids were at a indoor college pool, swimming in a local swim meet. A thunder storm approached and the college security came to the pool to make sure everyone was out of the water. I was surprised when I notice the college security guys were packing 9mm handguns. I am aware of tragedies like Va. Tech., but I think eventually sometime in the future we''re also going to see another Kent State, with a bunch of untrained security guys opening up on some students who are committing some offense that doesn''t merit a "rent-a-cop" opening up on them.

When our grandchildren are wondering in the future how they ever got to the point of living under a dictator with a armed military presence on every street corner and a camera above them as they sit at their cubical at work, if your still around in a nursing home, you can tell them it was all in the name of safety and security.

[harp1963]

Everybody that gets "ticked off" about the frustrations of life in NOT an Al Queda terrorist attempting to blow up the World Trade Center. Being patient and letting the person calm down is a better route than killing the person with a taser.

[bigterrorist]

My question is: was the Taser necessary? I didn''t see the police first try to grab the guy by the arm to put on the handcuffs! The guy obviously calmed down once he saw the police, manifested no violence towards the officers, and unable to understand what they were telling him, turned his back on them. I don''t get it - why did they taser the guy? Why didn''t they just grab him and cuff him, and if that didn''t work then taser him!? Also, the guy didn''t stop screaming once he hit the floor - did the cop forget to remove his finger from the trigger? I''d love to taser that cop''s balls, he might not be so trigger happy in the future...Until now I supported our RCMP, but this was an obvious abuse and a foretaste of what''s coming.

[rematenaj]

This man was tazed for no reason! He threw a table and a computer; big deal! I want to throw my computer every friggin day!! But kidding aside, it''s totally unnecessary that this man lost his life, when the FOUR cops could have easily taken him down without tazing. He wasn''t fighting them at all. I wonder how law enforcement was able to be effective before the tazer was invented...

[bobacorn]

Yes ... these cops are guilty of killing this man. With all the people that have died from Tasering, the things should only be used as a substitute for lethal force. I don''t think that level was reached in this situation. The Taser shouldn''t be a happy tool for chicken-chit police officers who are too cowardly or weak to tackle an unarmed person to the ground.

[korinsha]

Well there you go. Americans, you have crazy drunk self-strangling woman, and we Canadians have crazy coked-up, can''t-speak-English tasered guy.

[feelfree1]

Nobody can say that these Canadian cowards don''t have a sense of humor. Did you hear one of them tell this man to ''put his hands behind his back'', as he was writhing in agony from the 50,000 volt shock of this torture device?

[hillaryin08]

dont taze me bro!

[waveblast]

First off, put your self in the position of the police officers. The retired police officer stated that "he made no threatening gestures towards the police". The view of the person is not clear and we are unable to see if he made any threatening gestures. Secondly, he was holding a table, attempted to break the glass, and threw a computer all "right in front of the cops" as is said on the video by a bystander. It is obvious the officers are attempting to arrest the man. He backs away, which is actively resisting the police officers. The statement that he does not pose a threat is based on the assumption that the taser was used for the officers personal safety. The taser is intended for use on a non compliant person. The officers used the taser in order to effect an arrest. The officers could have just grabbed him and used force to effect the arrest instead of using the taser, but the whole point of using the taser is to lessen the chance of serious injury to the officer and to the person being arrested. Before criticizing the officers, put yourself in their position, you come upon a man babbling incoherently, sweating profusely, holding a wooden table. He then attempts to break glass by throwing the table and throws a computer. He doesnt understand what you are saying and backs away from you. What would you do?

[myidoncbs]

"Probably the most disturbing part is one of the officers using his leg and his knee to pin his head and his neck against the ground."

And the cops will say, "they followed procedures, and the cop lovers will say, "he deserved it"!

Cops are out of control. This whole "war on terror" BS has turned them ALL into paranoid, out of control, reckless murderers. Not much different than before, but it does appear to be getting worse every day.

[feelfree1]

Well put, MyIDonCBS,

Re: "Probably the most disturbing part is one of the officers using his leg and his knee to pin his head and his neck against the ground," said Paul Pritchard, who made the video."

Anyone accused of jaywalking at an anti-war demonstration is familiar with this appraoach.

Re: "Dziekanski then became quiet and died soon after."

Being tortured to death by way of electrocution does tend to result in "quietness" of the victim.

Will we continue to allow abusive pigs to murder people with these torture devices?

[rudy654-2009]

The police are saying that the video is only part of the evidence and only one persons view. From that view I have seen enough to be scared to death of police. If they say that his behavior was threatening enough to warrant the use of a taser then anyone displaying a public outburst fueled by frustration should watch out.
Posted by bouiar at 11:27 AM

AMEN!!!!! That''s right folks, it''s come down to shut up and be a good little dummy. Soon, if you just raise your voice you could be tased because someone decided that although you are unarmed, you may still pose a danger. As this kind of nonsense continues, you all will soon fit into the controlled new world order where you are probably just better off staying at home and in front of your television or computer. But don''t post anything, because they might have to come and taze ya'' bro.

[rudy654-2009]

Before criticizing the officers, put yourself in their position, you come upon a man babbling incoherently, sweating profusely, holding a wooden table. He then attempts to break glass by throwing the table and throws a computer. He doesnt understand what you are saying and backs away from you. What would you do? Posted by waveblast at 03:10 PM

Why don''t you read the article first before running at the mouth?????!!!! He had already calmed down by the time the police arrived!! You know what, I would suggest that with that organized mind of yours, you should avoid all public places because you are probably the right candidate for a tazing, the minute your mind went out of sinc. And then all of us who are against this brutality will be back here trying to get people to think about how wrong it is.