Inquiry into airport death to look at Taser use by B.C. police only

The public inquiry into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski will investigate the use of Taser stun guns by B.C. police forces but not by the RCMP, Attorney General Wally Oppal announced Monday, even though it was a Mountie who shocked Dziekanski before he died.

The two-phase inquiry, to be headed by former B.C. Appeal Court justice Thomas Braidwood, may result in restrictions on the use of Tasers by municipal police forces, Oppal said. Taser guns are intended to incapacitate people with an electric shock.

"We're not prejudging what he's going to say, obviously, but it could be because a lot of police forces across North America are having second thoughts about the use of Tasers, given some of the medical opinions that are out there right now."

Oppal said the use of Tasers by the RCMP is not under scrutiny "because the RCMP, being a federal force, is beyond the jurisdiction of the province, but we expect the RCMP to fully co-operate in the inquiry."

Dziekanski was emigrating to Canada to join his mother in the B.C. Interior city of Kamloops, but he died at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14 last year after being stunned by an RCMP Taser.

The first phase of the inquiry will not be able to compel witnesses to testify, nor will it make findings of misconduct against individuals, Oppal said, but Braidwood will be able to make recommendations to the government on the use of Tasers in the province.

"There are two parts of the question that need to be answered," Oppal said. "The first is the appropriate use of Tasers: under what circumstances should police forces be using Tasers?"

The second phase of the inquiry will review the specific circumstances of Dziekanski's death, and Braidwood will be able to call witnesses and will have the authority to make findings of misconduct, Oppal said.

The two phases of inquiry will provide Dziekanski's family and the public with a complete record of the circumstances surrounding his death, Oppal said.

Braidwood is scheduled to finish the first phase of the inquiry by June 30 and will then decide when the second phase will begin.

B.C. Solicitor General John Les announced the commission of inquiry into Dziekanski's death last November.

In the meantime, Oppal said, the government has no plans to call for a moratorium on the use of Tasers.

Opposition New Democrat MLA Leonard Krog said Monday that the government should at least consider this move.

"Robert Dziekanski is dead. Canada's reputation has been harmed very much by this incident internationally. Mrs. Dziekanski doesn't have a son any more," said Krog, Opposition critic for the attorney general.