Memorial held for Polish man who died in Taser incident
A Kamloops, B.C.,funeral home was packed for a memorial service on Saturday for a Polish man who died after RCMP jolted him with a Taser at Vancouver International Airport last month.
Musical tributes and avideo montage put together by friends back in Poland were played at Robert Dziekanski's service. Photographs were also displayed, including one showingDziekanski as a child, smiling andstanding next to his mother, with trees and mountains in the background.
"I hope that everyone will remember my son, Robert, as a good, loving boy — a good, loving human being," said Zofia Cisowski, who thanked people for a "beautiful ceremony."
Although hundreds of people expressed interest in attending the service, thehome was able to seat about 240 people.
Funeral home manager Lawrence Schrader, who donated his business's services, said many people called him to express their outrage at the RCMP and ask how they could helpDziekanski's mother.
Dziekanski planned to live with his mother in the B.C. Interior, but he died soon after being zapped by a Taser and pinned down by four RCMP officers in the Vancouver airport's international arrivals area on Oct. 14.
He had been at the airport for about 10 hours and, unable to speak English,became confused and agitated while waiting for his mother to pick him up.
She was supposed to meet her 40-year-old son after he arrivedfrom his first plane trip, but theynever connected.
A Canadiantraveller at the airport recorded Dziekanski's final moments with his video camera.
Relatives have portrayed himas a gentle, courteous man who enjoyed collecting and studying maps, including those of Canada.
Jurek Baltakis, a family friend who spoke at Saturday's service, said he never had the opportunity to meet Dziekanski, but learned that he was an intelligent man with a thirst for knowledge.
"He was a geography freak. He knew the names of major rivers, mountains and capitals of the countries on every continent on the Earth," Baltakis told the crowd. "And you know what? He was buried with two front pages of the National Geographic. One of them was showing Poland and one of them, beautiful British Columbia."
On Friday, His uncle, Zdzislaw Dziekanski, told the Globe and Mail newspaper that his nephew had a special fondness for Canada.
He described him as a calm and peaceful man who was well cared for by his mother and wanted to start a new life with her and her Polish-Canadian husband.
A candle-lit vigil wasto be held at Vancouver International airport to coincide with the Kamloops memorial service.
A public inquest into the incident is expected to begin next spring or early next summer, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.