Let’s start with a definition.
Murder:
To kill brutally or inhumanly.
Which we will follow up with a snuff film… er video of an incident. {opens Windows Media Player}
Nothing less than the word murder applies to what appears in that video. This was not a life or death action on behalf of the RCMP. This was not an armed and dangerous offender bent on cop killing.
What on earth prevented the simple act of phoning for an interpreter from entering their minds? What was the rush to take down in such a violent fashion and then heap further abuse upon a downed, hand cuffed, unarmed, visitor to our country?
Had this film shown a similar number of young persons, most particularly of colour, engaging in a similar act of aggression resulting in death there would be no end of calls for justice, for lack of mercy, for lifelong imprisonment.
The act of donning a uniform, seems these days to give one carte blanche to engage in whatever thuggery one chooses in the name of the ‘greater good’. Yet no good seems to be coming from it.
This was a pointless and senseless death. It is a tragedy for the family and a wake up call for Canadians.
We have the right to expect more from those given the privilege of serving their communities. Those who make and keep the laws must never be allowed to be above them.
Murder does not cease to be a crime simply because it was committed by someone sporting a uniform.
Linkie no worky. Here’s another video link
Excellent post too, this is a real disgrace for Canada.
Your definition of murder is at odds with Canadian law which states that for a killing to be murder that has to be CRIMINAL INTENT to commit murder which was not the case in this instance. The RCMP deployed the taser to incapacitate the man to kill him. The fact that he died was completely unpredictable as tasers have been used hundreds have times and not been fatal.
You say: “This was not an armed and dangerous offender bent on cop killing.”
That is easy to say in 20/20 hindsight, but how are the officers supposed to assess this on the scene? How are they supposed to know that this man was an innocent Polish immigrant who had spent 10 hrs in customs and was exhausted and distraught? All they knew was that they had a belligerant and mentally unstable subject in a public place who was destroying property and brandishing a blunt object (stapler) in an aggressive stance. Their number 1 priority was to subdue the man before he could injure himself, a bystander, or an officer. Finding a translator and figuring out why he was on this rampage would have been priority two.
Its easy to look back now and say that the man wasn’t a threat to the officers, now that we KNOW who he was and what his story is, but the officers did not know this at the time. A week ago when Cst. Doug Scott responded to a drunk driving call in Nunavut he probably did not think he was about to meet a “armed and dangerous offender bent on cop killing”, but that is exactly what he found, and his life was lost. That is a perfect example of what can happen when officers do not keep constant guard and use every tool available to subdue the suspect and secure their own safety.
Interestingly Pete “my” definition of murder comes from the dictionary.
Freudian slip of truth Pete?
In fact there have been many fatalities related to the taser and many unjust uses of it including young children, the disabled and seniors.
Geez I don’t know. It’s not like they are cops. You know people who spend time investigating things. Wonder how they knew in 24 seconds he was a dangerous offender. Somebody carrying around an eight ball?
Cst. Doug Scott was 20 years old and responding alone in a remote area. Hardly the same thing as four officers responding to lone male they have been told does not speak the language and who appears distraught.
You can fold spindle and mutilate the truth to make it fit your own purposes if you like, if it makes you sleep better, but the truth remains that a man was unlawfully killed and that, as the dictionary states, is murder.
Pete, say hypothetically that you had wounded someone to the point where they lost consciousness and then you did nothing to revive them and they died. What would you call that?
That these police just stood around after calling in a code red, making no attempt to help their victim, shows that they considered death to be the inevitable consequence of their actions. What’s that called?
Good point on the uniforms being above the law. Ironically this only harms them.
April, did you happen to see this very good post from Boris yesterday? He’s the son of a policeman.
The reaction to this incident from Canadians has been swift and harsh… most of us are saddened and disgusted by the actions of the RCMP and YVR. This is ANOTHER wake up call for us Canadians as this is just another incident in a string of incidents/deaths over recent years that calls into question the actions and integrity of Canada’s leading policing agency. Each incident is investigated by the RCMP and no surprise that their findings always justify their actions. We’ve [Canadians]been calling for independent investigations of the RCMP for years, but our voices have gone unheard by our politicians… until now.
This is a horrible tragedy and there can be no justification, though I have no doubt that many RCMP and politicians will do their best to once again try to sweep the truth and the incident under the table. It won’t be so easy this time with the eyes of the world watching. The early lies of the RCMP have been exposed by Paul Pritchard’s video. The truth has been revealed and that can only be a good thing for Canadian people.
It seems to me that Robert’s life is a bittersweet gift to Canada and it’s citizens. As a result, the world is watching as Canada and the RCMP will have to answer to the international community for this senseless act of violence. This incident has exposed the inhumanity that lives and breathes in this country to the entire world. Though saddened and outraged, I am grateful to Robert for shining a light on the darkest places in our country. Perhaps because of him we will see much needed change for a country that seems to be sinking deeper and deeper into violence and a federal government that embraces war and violence when it serves a political agenda.
Thank you for your post and Gob bless and keep Robert Dziekanski. Rest in peace Robert.
Can someone explain to me the phenomenon that require other police and proponents of a police state to defend cops who do unacceptable things? Why, rather than getting rid of bad cops, do they feel the need to defend them to the death, thereby tainting the entire force?
There are people who are unsuited to life on the force. Once they are in, all roads should lead to their expulsion ASAP rather than closing ranks around them to “save face.”
It also seems to me that for a significant number of officers, there is a point at which compassion fatigue or its equivalent sets in and it is time for a career change – for the good of all.