RCMP officers to begin testimony at Dziekanski inquiry

On Monday, Canadians will hear for the first time from the four RCMP officers involved in the stun gun-related death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport.

They will testify at the Braidwood inquiry into the death of the Polish immigrant. Inquiry lawyer Art Vertlieb told CBC News the officers want to get involved.

"They have been wanting to get in the witness stand and tell their story and this has been, obviously, a stressful event for everybody involved and so we want to accommodate that," he said.

The lawyer representing one of the officers, Const. Bill Bentley, said all four officers are anxious to testify.

"It's part of taking any public office in this country, or any Western democracy, that you become accountable for your actions. This is part of a police officer's accountability," lawyer David Butcher said.

The lawyer representing Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski, said the public deserves to hear their testimony.

"I expect it gets down to the nitty-gritty of what happened and what was going through these officers' minds when this was going on," Walter Kosteckyj said.

However, Butcher said it's unlikely any of the officers will express regret or responsibility for what happened.

"No police officer ever wants an interaction to end the way this matter ended. We all know that. It's self-evident that this case was a tragedy, that it wasn't meant to end like this," Butcher said.

Officers likely to say they followed protocol

RCMP constables Bill Bentley, Gerry Rundel, Kwesi Millington and Cpl. Benjamin Robinson will begin testifying Monday morning.

The officers will be asked about RCMP training and policy, as well as their service histories as it relates to excessive use of force, unlawful arrest or the care of people in custody.

All are expected to say they followed their training in dealing with the 40-year-old Polish immigrant.

Kosteckyj said he's not impressed with that at all.

"If that's what the training is, then we as the public deserve better," he said.

Dziekanski died in the morning hours of Oct. 14, 2007, shortly after he was shocked up to five times by a Taser.

The four RCMP officers arrived at Vancouver International Airport after receiving a dispatch about an intoxicated man throwing chairs through glass windows.

They arrived within minutes and headed straight for Dziekanski, who had been throwing furniture minutes earlier.

After they approached the man, whom tests showed hadn't been drinking, but who also didn't speak English, they tried communicating with him briefly before he turned and walked away.

Dziekanski was hit several times with a Taser, a stun gun intended to incapacitate people with an electric shock, within seconds of the four officers' arrival.

The final report from inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood will reach far beyond the actions of the officers, examining the airport, the Canada Border Services Agency, first responders and others who encountered Dziekanski from the time his plane arrived until he died nearly 10 hours later.

Braidwood will make recommendations to prevent similar deaths and he could make findings of misconduct against the officers or anyone else involved.