Braidwood Report Must Lead to Action

(Aired on June 18, 2010)

The results of the inquiry into Robert Dziekanski's death released today should not be a surprise to anyone.  Retired Justice Thomas Braidwood laid the wood to the four RCMP officers involved in the incident.  He said they could not reasonably have perceived the Polish man as a threat when they arrived at YVR, and when Dziekanski picked up a stapler.  The report also said they weren't justified in using their taser and called the officer's conduct "shameful".

It's not always true, but in this case, the video told the story.  We all saw what happened thanks to the cellphone video taken by the bystander.  At the time, I'm sure that bystander had no idea the impact of the video he had taken.  By the time we all saw the video, we knew that the officers in question had to be taken to task.  Some decided to tar the entire RCMP by extension, but I always thought the majority of the blame should lie on the four cowboys who walked into the airport that day.  I'd like to think different officers in the same situation would react differently.

The big question does pertain to the entire force, though - what will really change as a result of this whole process?  Will there be any safeguards put in place as a result to ensure an incident like this doesn't happen again?  We've heard promises surrounding the creation of a civilian body to investigate the RCMP.  But that's not enough.  And besides changes to RCMP training and policy, there must be changes to the way Vancouver International and other airports deal with confused people who don't speak english.  Good customer service is one thing, but in this case, it could have saved a life.