As the first of the taser charges surged through his body, Dziekanski could be heard calling out for assistance, begging for help from the "Polizia! Polizia!"

Dziekanski's confusion as to the identity of his assailants was replicated by cab driver, Firoz Khan who was beaten and robbed in front of a downtown Vancouver hotel in early February.

 

Khan was beset in front of the Vancouver Hyatt by an apparently drunken man seeking directions. When he was not forthcoming quickly enough, the irate drunk began pounding the elderly Khan. The assailant was joined by another man, the pair gleefully putting the boots to the now prostrate cabbie, yelling at him between blows; "We don't like brown people."  

 

As Dziekanski did in his final moments, Khan too cried out for the interdiction of the "Polizia," unaware the two men beating him were in fact off-duty Vancouver city police officers.

"Shocked! Shocked!"

The four RCMP officers involved in the Dziekanski take down were not charged, their actions deemed appropriate, if regrettable. They were each reassigned, though one has since been suspended with pay for his involvement in a drunken hit and run accident that killed 21 year old motorcyclist, Orion Hutchinson in Delta on October 25th of last year.

 

Officer Benjamin Montgomery Robinson stands charged with impaired driving causing death and having a blood alcohol level above .08. There is no recommendation for further charges of leaving the scene of an accident, as Robinson did, or for endangering the lives of the two children in the car with him at the time of the fatal collision.

Delta Police Department (DPD) chief Jim Cessford bristled at suggestions Robinson would receive "special treatment," saying:

 

 

"I would be shocked and disappointed that people would even suggest that. We are the Delta Police Department. We are open, transparent; we are accountable."

 

Even so, Robinson's case, scheduled to be heard last month, has been postponed perhaps for late March or early April, while the court awaits full disclosure.

 

 

 

Koester's story was dismissed as physically impossible by independent "blood splatter expert" Joe Slemko, (a former Edmonton police officer). An internal RCMP inquiry found Koester's story sufficient and, in a not publicly available report to the province's attorney general, Wally Oppal, recommended against charges. Oppal agreed with that investigation, finding there were no charges to be laid.

The Bush family has filed suit against the RCMP, Wally Oppal and the solicitor general's office. That case is before the B.C. Supreme Court.   


Impunity, Immunity, and the Impervious "We"

Speaking to the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association's Death-In-Custody Public Forum, Linda Bush, Ian's mom, summed up what she believes should happen in Canada, saying:

"Before Ian died all of us had a healthy respect and appreciation for police, and we still do. There are a few bad cops, some maybe not well enough trained easily panicked cops, and a lot of dedicated intelligent cops with good sense. We hope to see changes made which will keep people who should never become a police officer from being there, provide better and on-going training for those who should be, and find ways to support officers doing a very difficult job. It should not be us against them, which is how I think police feel now. We hope that police will remember that we, too, are almost all good guys [...] What we want most, and it seems that what most Canadians want, is that accountability be brought to policing in Canada. We need independent qualified investigators on the scene immediately after a death, and we need laws which will support their investigation. Only with accountability will solutions be found, and they may very well start with recruitment and training."

 

More than three years after her son's death, and the case still ongoing, we all hope for that; even as the death toll rises. But, there seems little recognition within law enforcement of the attitudinal adjustments needed at all levels and among all jurisdictions in Canada. What we see in case after case is an expression of impunity and a brash disregard for the law by officers sworn to protect and serve the interests of the citizenry.