Judge rules Mountie lied at inquiry into Robert Dziekanski's death

[Dion]

VANCOUVER — The RCMP officer who stunned Robert Dziekanski with a Taser at Vancouver's airport lied at a public inquiry, a judge ruled Friday, marking the first guilty verdict of any kind related to the Polish immigrant's death.

Const. Kwesi Millington's perjury conviction comes more than seven years after Dziekanski's fatal confrontation with police, which stained the image of the RCMP and led to sweeping changes to how officers across the country use Tasers.

B.C. Supreme Court Judge William Ehrcke described Millington's explanations at the inquiry to be "simply preposterous" and he concluded the officer had a strong motive to lie.

"The discrepancies are all in one direction: that of exaggerating the threat posed by Mr. Dziekanski," Ehrcke said Friday, as Millington listened from the prisoner's dock.

"I find his explanation to be patently false."

For example, Millington initially said Dziekanski remained standing after the first jolt of the Taser and that the four officers wrestled the man to the ground. The video clearly shows Dziekanski fell to the floor on his own almost as soon as he was stunned.

Millington told the inquiry he thought Dziekanski was standing when he pulled the trigger a second time and he said he honestly believed the officers wrestled Dziekanski to the ground, though he acknowledged in the face of the video that he was mistaken.

Ehrcke concluded the officers must have spoken to each other before providing statements to homicide investigators, but all four Mounties denied that.

"This the only rationale inference available," Ehrcke said.

Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski, who sat quietly in the public gallery as the judge read the verdict, said Friday was the first time she has been happy since her son died.

"I am the happiest person all over the world," said Cisowski, who lives in Kamloops, where Dziekanski planned to move after immigrating to Canada.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/me...019/story.html

[T@T]

Wasn't he tasered like 4 or 5 times? anyway,good to see an honest judge do the right thing unlike the dingbats in the USA.

[OMG!WTF!]

A cop lied? Weird. That must be like the first time ever. Hopefully he gets a real sentence.

I wonder if he'll play the race card.

[Rerun]

It took 7 years for the judge to come to this conclusion? Outstanding!

[Flash Walken]

So, is this an obstruction of justice charge?

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

A cop lied? Weird. That must be like the first time ever. Hopefully he gets a real sentence.

I wonder if he'll play the race card.

These are easily the dumbest and most cringe worthy statements I see.

Sure it's fun and trendy to be a "screw cops" guy. Think about this: Police are people, just like you,your mom, your dad and your (future?) children. Some are liars, some are jerks and most are great people. We ask them to put their lives on the line to keep us safe and most do it incredibly honourably.

There are horrible incidents like this, and justice needs to hold those who are responsible accountable. I applaud the judges decision. I sincerely hope this helps heal some trust issues with the law in this country. There is nothing wrong with questioning or even being suspicious of processes, or individuals involved.

As for your comment, I find it incredibly offensive, imbecile, and ignorant. It speaks a whole lot more to your character and caring than it does the police who keep you safe.

[fatso]

Two incredibly terrible posts in the first 4. That's gotta be a record, no?

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

A cop lied? Weird. That must be like the first time ever. Hopefully he gets a real sentence.

I wonder if he'll play the race card.

Got it. All cops are liars. All black people play the race card in all circumstances.

Originally Posted by Rerun

It took 7 years for the judge to come to this conclusion? Outstanding!

No. If you actually look at this, this was a perjury charge brought by the Crown subsequent to the public hearing. The judge can only rule after the trial, which has to be brought by the prosecutor which, in this case, could have only been after the hearing was done. I agree it doesn't have the timing of proceedings in the article, but it can't have been anyway near seven years and, in any event, it's not the judge who drives this but the prosecution who obviously had to wait 'til the inquiry was completely done.

If you read it you'd figure that out. But why not take a misfounded, illogical swipe at the judge?

Anyway, I'm curious to read the decision. Ehrcke J. is very respected in BC. A finding of perjury is very serious, obviously, particularly when it is always available to dismiss a witness's testimony as simply not credible (as opposed to actively deceptive).

[Fighting Banana Slug]

[QUOTE=fatso;5151410]Two incredibly terrible posts in the first 4. That's gotta be a record, no?


Maybe more like 4 in the first 6.

Thicker skin, people. These posts are clearly not to be taken seriously.

[Street Pharmacist]

[QUOTE=Fighting Banana Slug;5151426]

Originally Posted by fatso

Two incredibly terrible posts in the first 4. That's gotta be a record, no?


Maybe more like 4 in the first 6.

Thicker skin, people. These posts are clearly not to be taken seriously.

Ignorance needn't be ignored

[Fighting Banana Slug]

[QUOTE=Street Pharmacist;5151432]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

Ignorance needn't be ignored

mmmm, sometimes, sometimes not.

Perhaps I am giving those posters too much credit, but pointing out problems with police or the justice system, even when dripping with sarcasm, is fair comment, in my opinion.

So without the sarcasm: Not all cops are like this guy, but this cop murdered someone and tried to cover it up. He is a bad man and I hope he is punished.

[Street Pharmacist]

[QUOTE=Fighting Banana Slug;5151440]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

mmmm, sometimes, sometimes not.

Perhaps I am giving those posters too much credit, but pointing out problems with police or the justice system, even when dripping with sarcasm, is fair comment, in my opinion.

So without the sarcasm: Not all cops are like this guy, but this guy murdered someone and tried to cover it up. He is a bad man and I hope he is punished.

Check out omg's posts in the greyhound beheading thread. Cop bashing is his hobby.

Posts like that shouldn't be tolerated. I'll explain.

About 2.5 months ago an officer here was shot after pulling over a guy on a routine stop. The guy was shooting to kill and the officer is still in serious condition. The only reason the shooter left before finishing the job (had already put multiple shots into the officer) was because another officer totally randomly was driving by. The guy who shot him has been known by the police here for some time. Something had changed in him as he'd always disliked the police, but some acquaintances said he began to talk about shooting them and how "cops deserve it" on Facebook and such whenever an officer was shot. A couple weeks after the incident I had a couple interactions at work with a few officers. I thanked them profusely and they told me what they're dealing with. Many officers have had their lives threatened while trying to uphold the peace (stopping husband's from hiring wives/kids, apprehending violent thieves, etc). They continue to do this (hundreds of these types of incidents daily across the country) Meanwhile, their Facebook feeds and social media are filled with idiots like above clamouring to be cool and trendy with a "cops lie!", "stupid pigs" type vilification. Public sentiment does contribute to this growing trend of anti authoritarian violence in my opinion. At the very least, it's offensive.

Sure it's their job, and sure there's bad apples in the force, but drive by comments like that will never be ignored or tolerated by me.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

These are easily the dumbest and most cringe worthy statements I see.

Sure it's fun and trendy to be a "screw cops" guy. Think about this: Police are people, just like you,your mom, your dad and your (future?) children. Some are liars, some are jerks and most are great people. We ask them to put their lives on the line to keep us safe and most do it incredibly honourably.

You're completely and totally wrong. Police are not just people like my me, my mom and my dad. They have much more power and thus must be held to a much higher account. They've been trained to do so and are trusted to do so. And it's blind hero worship like yours that puts the entire free system we live in at risk. Cops lie all the time and it is a serious problem, much more serious than when criminals lie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rPEM4YLSdA

So yes, I'm tickled bloody pink someone in the good ole boys club finally got smacked. The race card comment? That was just kind of funny. My bad.

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

You're completely and totally wrong. Police are not just people like my me, my mom and my dad. They have much more power and thus must be held to a much higher account. They've been trained to do so and are trusted to do so. And it's blind hero worship like yours that puts the entire free system we live in at risk. Cops lie all the time and it is a serious problem, much more serious than when criminals lie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rPEM4YLSdA

So yes, I'm tickled bloody pink someone in the good ole boys club finally got smacked. The race card comment? That was just kind of funny. My bad.

Your Russia Today youtube video convinced me!

If Russia Today is shaping your opinion on anything, I feel sorry for you more than anything else.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

[QUOTE=Street Pharmacist;5151467]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

Check out omg's posts in the greyhound beheading thread. Cop bashing is his hobby.

Posts like that shouldn't be tolerated. I'll explain.

About 2.5 months ago an officer here was shot after pulling over a guy on a routine stop. The guy was shooting to kill and the officer is still in serious condition. The only reason the shooter left before finishing the job (had already put multiple shots into the officer) was because another officer totally randomly was driving by. The guy who shot him has been known by the police here for some time. Something had changed in him as he'd always disliked the police, but some acquaintances said he began to talk about shooting them and how "cops deserve it" on Facebook and such whenever an officer was shot. A couple weeks after the incident I had a couple interactions at work with a few officers. I thanked them profusely and they told me what they're dealing with. Many officers have had their lives threatened while trying to uphold the peace (stopping husband's from hiring wives/kids, apprehending violent thieves, etc). They continue to do this (hundreds of these types of incidents daily across the country) Meanwhile, their Facebook feeds and social media are filled with idiots like above clamouring to be cool and trendy with a "cops lie!", "stupid pigs" type vilification. Public sentiment does contribute to this growing trend of anti authoritarian violence in my opinion. At the very least, it's offensive.

Sure it's their job, and sure there's bad apples in the force, but drive by comments like that will never be ignored or tolerated by me.

I am not trolling to rile anyone up. You can post what you like and provide your reasons, that is totally legit. However, pointing out that cops lie, when that is actually what the story said, is fair comment, and factually, undoubtedly true. The common ground is that cops are human.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

You're completely and totally wrong. Police are not just people like my me, my mom and my dad. They have much more power and thus must be held to a much higher account. They've been trained to do so and are trusted to do so. And it's blind hero worship like yours that puts the entire free system we live in at risk. Cops lie all the time and it is a serious problem, much more serious than when criminals lie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rPEM4YLSdA

So yes, I'm tickled bloody pink someone in the good ole boys club finally got smacked. The race card comment? That was just kind of funny. My bad.

What? What does your video have to do with what I said? The video was simply saying just because you want to protest the systemic police brutality doesn't mean you have to protest police deaths (then goes on some strange tangent about standing with the police as an indictment to let them take over the world)

Oppose and protest systematic problems. Great. That's social justice. I too was hoping for justice in this case.

You called police officers liars. There are too be held to a higher standard, sure. Your content still is laughably ignorant, horribly misguided and honestly incredibly dumb.

"hero worship"? Give me a break

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

I am not trolling to rile anyone up. You can post what you like and provide your reasons, that is totally legit. However, pointing out that cops lie, when that is actually what the story said, is fair comment, and factually, undoubtedly true. The common ground is that cops are human.

That is not at all what the intentions of the post were. All people do lie and this officer lied according to the judge. We can pretty much all agree he lied.

The intent of what omg said was to the effect of "that's expected of them".

That's where offense is taken. It was deliberately meant to insult the people that make up the police in this country.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

The race card comment? That was just kind of funny. My bad.

You find racism funny and 'apologize' in a backhanded way because other folks don't.

Indeed.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

You find racism funny and 'apologize' in a backhanded way because other folks don't.

Indeed.

It's ironic not racist. A black cop playing the race card? Nevermind. Over your heads.

If Russia Today is shaping your opinion on anything, I feel sorry for you more than anything else

Sorry if you don't get the general point. It's one of a zillion websites, videos, blogs etc about how criminal disorder gets worse and worse when those entrusted with control and enforcement become idiolized. I'll bump it up to a newspaper for you.

You called police officers liars. There are too be held to a higher standard, sure. Your content still is laughably ignorant, horribly misguided and honestly incredibly dumb

Yep. Because when cops lie it's way worse for everyone than when other people lie. Once is unacceptable. And cops don't lie because they're human. They lie because they have a better chance of getting away with it. Here's an article in the Washington Post...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/v...ce-themselves/

If you don't realize this is a problem in Canada as well you're just worshipping idols. When police testimony is considered truth in so many cases, there should be no grace given and no stone should be left unturned in criminal investigations involving cops. That's not the case. And it's just the tip of an iceberg.