Braidwood testimony should be used in Polish trial of RCMP officers: lawyer

A Polish lawyer wants a court in his country to use evidence from the Braidwood inquiry to prosecute four RCMP officers involved in the death of Robert Dziekanski.

Poland is considering whether to charge the Mounties for crimes against a Polish citizen after Dziekanski died shortly after being stunned several times with a Taser by the RCMP in the arrivals lounge of Vancouver International Airport in October 2007.

But Warsaw-based lawyer Piotr Banasik said the testimony should be used as evidence if Poland charges the Mounties for alleged crimes against a Polish citizen. Dziekanski had just arrived on a flight from Poland and was waiting to be picked up by his mother at the time.

The lawyer said the Polish prosecution has been stalled for months because of limited information from Canada, but vital details have emerged at the Braidwood inquiry, which has been underway in Vancouver for the past year.

Canadian officials have already said the officers will not be charged in Canada and testimony given at the Braidwood Inquiry cannot be used against them in any Canadian trial.

During the inquiry, the RCMP officers testified they stunned Dziekanski with a conducted energy weapon several times because he was acting in a threatening manner, but several expert and eyewitnesses disputed their version of events.

The Braidwood inquiry is scheduled to resume in September.