Limo driver warned Dziekanski of Taser risk at airport, inquiry hears

A limousine driver who confronted Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport told him police would come and stun him with a Taser, an inquiry heard Tuesday.

Lorne Meltzer testified at the inquiry into the Polish immigrant's death that Dziekanski was blocking the door to the international reception lounge at the arrivals area but was not threatening people.

He said Dziekanski was holding a chair and appeared to be trying to get through the door after it was closed.

"I saw this distraught gentleman, angry.… I can't remember how hard he was trying to smash the window and the doors," Meltzer told the inquiry.

Dziekanski died at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14, 2007, shortly after he was stunned up to five times by a Taser when confronted by four RCMP officers. He had been wandering the airport for hours and became agitated after a series of communications breakdowns kept him in a controlled area.

Meltzer testified he was at the airport around 1 a.m. to pick up a corporate client.

He said Dziekanski was distraught and confused and did not understand him when he asked the man to move out of the way.

"He wasn't outwardly attacking people or mad at people. He was just distraught, just tired," he said.

Meltzer, who is more than six feet tall with a slim build, said he was standing close to Dziekanski and did not feel threatened by him.

He said he told Dziekanski that police would come and stun him with a Taser if he kept making a scene.

He also said he could not understand what Dziekanski was saying except the words "police" and "help."

"I could go to the airport on any given day and show you probably 30 to 50 confused people.… People don't know where to go," Meltzer testified.

Dziekanski was 'harmless'

Meltzer notified an airport security guard to call the police and even called 911 himself, the inquiry heard.

He said he approached the four RCMP officers when they arrived to tell them about the distraught man who didn't speak English.

Meltzer said Dziekanski looked calm when the Mounties arrived, but as officers began to surround him, he appeared to become agitated again.

An airport cleaner who encountered Dziekanski minutes before Meltzer testified earlier Tuesday that Dziekanski was calm and harmless.

Jame Glenn Canzon said he walked past Dziekanski and through the door that was being blocked without any incident.

Canzon, who is barely five feet tall, said Dziekanski was sweating and speaking in Polish, but he did not think he posed any threat.

"I'm not afraid, because he didn't do anything against me," Canzon said.