Dziekanski Taser inquiry will not be postponed again: commissioner
The chair of the Braidwood commission says he will not postpone the inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski again.
The commission, which is set to start proceedings on Jan. 19, 2009, was established by the B.C. government to look into the circumstances around the death of Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport in October 2007. The newly arrived immigrant from Poland died shortly after being stunned with a Taser by RCMP officers.
The inquiry has already been postponed twice because the B.C. Crown hasn't decided if charges will be laid against the four Mounties involved in the incident.
On Tuesday, commissioner Thomas Braidwood said he now plans to subpoena the RCMP officers involved in the incident even if a decision on charges has not been made by Jan. 19.
Commission counsel Art Vertlieb told CBC News the commission just can't wait any longer.
"People are pretty concerned about this, and we have just decided, and rightly so from the commissioner's perspective, well, let's use subpoenas, and we'll start putting this in motion to start January 19," said Vertlieb.
Two-stage inquiry began in May
A video recording of the death of the Polish immigrant was captured by a bystander at the airport and broadcast around the world, causing widespread concern about the use of Tasers by police.
B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal appointed Braidwood, a retired B.C. Appeal Court justice, in February to lead the two-stage commission of inquiry into the death of Dziekanski.
The first stage last May looked into the use, safety and effectiveness of conducted energy weapons in B.C. That report is being written.
But the second phase, which was to investigate the specific circumstances at the airport the night Dziekanski died, was postponed once until November, and then a second time until January, as Crown prosecutors decided whether to lay criminal charges against any of the police involved.
The Crown prosecutors' office has said it was awaiting expert reports before making any decisions about possible charges.