Taser victim's mother makes tearful plea at Vancouver inquiry

The mother of a man who died after RCMP stunned him with a Taser at Vancouver International Airport told an inquiry in Vancouver it is up to the commissioner examining the use of the weapons to ensure such deaths do not recur in the future.

"I hope and I put all my trust in you, Mr. Commissioner, that in your final report you will come up with proper recommendations so that another mother will not have to experience so much pain and suffering like I did," said a tearful Zofia Cisowski Thursday morning.

She was addressing Thomas R. Braidwood, the retired B.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judge who was appointed to head an inquiry into the general use of Tasers and the specific circumstances surrounding the death of Cisowski's son, Robert Dziekanski.

Cisowski's lawyer, Walter Kosteckyj, also spoke at length to the commission, questioning the reliability of studies of the stun guns, the regulation of the weapons in Canada and the damage the Dziekanski incident has done to the RCMP's reputation and Canada's reputation overseas.

"There should be no mistake. In Zophia's mind, if there had been no Taser available to the four RCMP officers who confronted her son at the International Airport, he would be alive today," said Kosteckyj.

"She quite simply submits there should be a moratorium on the use of conducted energy weapons, including the Taser and other so-called stun guns," said Kosteckyj. 

The Taser inquiry was called after Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant, died shortly after he was jolted at least twice with an RCMP Taser at the Vancouver airport on Oct. 14, 2007.

The first phase of the inquiry is examining the general use of stun guns by B.C. police forces and coming up with recommendations on appropriate use. The second phase will look into Dziekanski's case in particular.