Ex-Mountie gets two years in jail for lying about Taser death
The lies a former Mountie told a public inquiry damaged the reputation of the RCMP and undermined confidence in the once-trusted institution, a B.C. Supreme Court judge said Friday.
Justice Nathan Smith sentenced former corporal Benjamin (Monty) Robinson to two years less a day, one year of probation and 240 hours of community service for lying to the inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski.
Robinson was the senior officer in charge on Oct. 14, 2007, when Dziekanski was jolted with a Taser and died at Vancouver’s airport.
Smith found him guilty last March, ruling he colluded with four fellow officers to make up testimony that they gave at the inquiry.
“The impact of this offence on the community has been primarily to the reputation and credibility of the police force in which Mr. Robinson served,” Smith told the court. “Confidence and trust in the police is crucial to the proper functioning of the justice system and society in general.”
Smith illustrated his point by reading part of the victim-impact statement of Dziekanski’s mother. Zofia Cisowski said that when she came to this country she saw the RCMP as the main symbol of Canada and what it stood for, a democracy where people could always trust the police.
Cisowski said that she didn’t feel the same way anymore because of the untruths told by police connected to her son’s case.
Outside court, Cisowski held up a page from the inquiry’s report that had a photo of her son. It was the last picture taken of him, she said.
The officers were called to Vancouver’s airport after reports that Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who spoke no English, was throwing furniture.
Within seconds of their arrival, Dziekanski was jolted several times with a Taser and died on the floor of the arrivals terminal.
When he found Robinson guilty in March, Smith noted that all the officers made similar mistakes. The judge said the only explanation was that the Mounties worked together on their stories.