The death of Mr. Robert Dziekanski on October 14, 2007, was tragic. The RCMP wishes to once again extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to his family.
Although a number of representatives of the RCMP have made themselves available to the media, there is a perception that the RCMP has been silent since the airing of the disturbing video images earlier this week.
I have not made a public statement before now as I felt that the best course of action was to let the investigations underway proceed so that we could all benefit from an independent determination of the facts.
I recognize, however, that the RCMP cannot provide effective policing services without the support of the communities we serve and I am concerned that growing misperceptions are eroding the public's confidence in the RCMP.
I would like to make clear that this incident is being treated very seriously by the RCMP, up to and including by me as Commissioner.
Many questions are being asked about what happened on October 14 at the Vancouver International Airport and there are a number of independent processes underway to examine, in detail, exactly what occurred.
Immediately after Mr. Dziekanski's death, an investigation was initiated by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team in British Columbia. This team includes experienced investigators from the RCMP as well as members of the New Westminster, Port Moody, Abbotsford and West Vancouver police services.
The scope of this investigation includes everything that happened from the moment Mr. Dziekanski boarded his plane in Poland to come Canada.
Investigative teams will be interviewing witnesses as well as individuals from a number of domestic and international authorities.
An independent observer from the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) has been involved from the outset and is being provided complete access throughout the investigation.
The CPC has also announced its own independent investigation. Information about the CPC investigation is available at www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca .
In addition, the B.C. Coroner's office will be conducting an inquest.
The RCMP fully supports these investigations and is anxious to learn as much as possible about this tragic event.
For the time being, the four RCMP officers directly involved in the events of October 14th , 2007, have been assigned to other duties. The RCMP has also undertaken an examination of our policies and procedure relating to conducted energy weapons, commonly called "TASERs" and will be providing a report to the Minister of Public Safety. We will further consider our policies and procedures in light of the findings and recommendations flowing from the investigations currently under way.
Based on the information available to date, the RCMP remains of the view that "TASERs" are effective law enforcement tools and are safe in the vast majority of cases. When properly deployed they result in overall injury reduction when dealing with the arrest of violent individuals.
Many comments we have received seem to suggest that the use of a TASER is never justified based on the likelihood of inflicting serious injury or death. In fact, our experience and that of other police services over the course of many years and thousands of incidents, as well as existing research, have shown that deploying a TASER is often the fastest and safest way to gain control of an individual. We and other police services teach our officers that it is less likely to cause serious injury than other tactics.
We believe that further research, particularily with respect to Conducted Energy Weapons and excited delerium, is needed and we welcome yesterday's announcement that the Canadian Police Research Centre has been asked by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to conduct further work in this area.
The RCMP recognizes the video images recently made public are disturbing for anyone who sees them. We do not, however, believe that it is appropriate to draw conclusions based on these images alone. This serious event deserves a comprehensive and complete examination and we are confident that the processes underway will provide the proper basis on which to make conclusions and to determine appropriate action.
William J. S. Elliott
Commissioner
