Video Raises Questions About Taser Death
Polish Immigrant Stunned At Vancouver Airport By 4 Mounties; Couldn't Speak English
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Video
Canadian Mounties Under Fire
Hannah Storm speaks with aviation expert Michael Boyd about a Polish man's death after being tasered by the Canadian Mounties after becoming unruly at the Vancouver airport.
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Video
Tasered To Death At Airport
"CBS News RAW": A disturbing video shows a man being tasered by Mounties at Vancouver International Airport moments after arriving from Poland. He dies while officers try to pin him down.
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Royal Canadian Mounted Police tackle Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski after Tasering him at the Vancouver airport, Oct. 14, 2007. (CBC/CBS)
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Robert Dziekanski throwing furniture at the Vancouver airport, Oct. 14, 2007. (CBC/CBS)
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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 doesn't look good for the Canadian police right now.
aviation expert Michael BoydThe 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."
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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See all 70 CommentsYour 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!!!!!!
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!!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!!!
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!!
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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.
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.
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!!
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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