Robert Dziekanski, who died after being tasered at Vancouver Airport would have been a Kamloopsian, if not for this tragic "perfect storm" of truly unfortunate circumstances. I attended his "celebration of life" yesterday. Obviously, reporters and camera folk were out in full complement. But, for us here, I think this is a truly intimate, local happening.
A member of our community, Robert's mother Zofia Cisowski, worked very hard to bring her son to Canada and now she is devastated. We as a community will, as is our nature, surround Zofia with love and gentle caring. We will take care of our own.
I was asked to say a few words, as a person but also on your behalf. I wrote them down so I could get through this difficult task and amazing privilege:
Good Day. As mentioned, My name is Arjun Singh and I am a member of Kamloops City Council. I am here today to mourn with you and many many others all over the world over the tragic death of Mr Robert Dziekanski. i especially want to express my sincere condolences to Robert's mother. I cannot imagine the hurt and pain you must feel, Mrs Cisowski, and I want to personally offer my and our support to you in any way I am able. I am saddened that we did not have the opportunity to welcome Robert in our community. I want to also express my thanks and welcome to those of you who have travelled from other places. It means a lot for you to be here today.
I never want to close on a sad note. So, I would like to end my remarks today by celebrating the life of Mr Robert Dziekanski. I did not know him, but I have seen him in the paper described as a beautiful man, an avid star gazer and geographer. These are wonderful descriptions of any person. May his soul rest in peace.
With all the issues surrounding the RCMP, maybe it is time for Kamloops to look into providing its own police service.
My sympathies go out to his mother, family and friends. Unfortunately, this is just a symptom of the larger ill within the RCMP.
Posted by: Mayor Quimby | November 20, 2007 at 03:22 PM
Hi Arjun,
What happened to Robert is terrible and my prayers go out to his family.
From what I've heard discussed on CBC and various news sources I have to say that at this point, with the limited information presented, it looks to me like the RCMP did what they are mandated to do. Come into a potentially dangerous situation and as quickly as possible stop it.
It is tragic that this resulted in Robert's death. From my seat, the blame rests on the YVR and/or Canada Customs for letting things go as far as they did. Security should have taken note of him wandering around in a secure area for hours and attempted to find out why. His mother should never have been told he wasn't there.
This entire taser/RCMP issue wouldn't exist if someone had noticed him and tried asked a few questions. It seems very strange to me that he didn't do the same himself. Tragic as it truly is, avoidable as it surely was, Robert Dziekanski was also responsible for his own actions. Violence begets violence, please try not to place all the blame on the backs of those who's job it is to deal with and diffuse difficult situations. The methods they've been trained to use may have caused Robert's death, but surely that was not their intention. They were just trying to do their jobs.
Posted by: Mickael Maddison | November 21, 2007 at 11:10 AM
Isn't that manslaughter or criminal negligence causing death?
The 4 RCMP officers over reacted and the list of RCMP officers that have over reacted is piling up. A 67 year old man recovering from a stroke was tasered in Kelowna for double parking.
It seems that most police have lost their discretion or are emboldened by new weapons.
It's a fact the RCMP is broken and needs to be dismantled, reformed or replaced.
Posted by: Mayor Quimby | November 21, 2007 at 03:10 PM