Mountie says Taser use was appropriate in Dziekanski case
VANCOUVER — A Mountie who stunned Robert Dziekanski with a Taser at Vancouver’s airport says the man’s death was shocking and traumatic, but the officer insists he left the scene confident he had done nothing wrong.
Const. Kwesi Millington, who was among four officers who confronted Dziekanski at the airport in October 2007, is on trial for perjury for his testimony at a subsequent public inquiry.
The Crown alleges Millington and his fellow officers fabricated a story to justify their use of force.
Prosecutors allege the officers then told those lies to homicide investigators and again at the inquiry in early 2009, particularly when they attempted to reconcile apparent discrepancies between their original statements and an amateur video.
But Millington’s lawyer, Ravi Hira, suggested his client had no reason to lie because his decision to repeatedly stun Dziekanski with the Taser was in keeping with his training.
Hira asked Millington why he agreed to provide a statement to homicide investigators in the hours after Dziekanski’s death, even after being told he could consult a lawyer first if he wanted to.
“I didn’t think I did anything wrong,” Millington told a B.C. Supreme Court judge. “I acted according to my training and I was ready to give a statement.”
The officers were called to Vancouver’s airport after Dziekanski — who arrived from Poland about 10 hours earlier and spoke no English — started throwing furniture in the airport’s international terminal.
Millington said Dziekanski appeared agitated when the officers arrived. At some point, Dziekanski picked up a stapler and faced the officers.
Millington said Dziekanski held the stapler at chest level and began moving toward the officers, which he described as combative behaviour. At the time, the court heard, officers were trained with the option to use a Taser if a suspect became combative.
“I believed he was going to attack us, so I acted to stop that from happening,” said Millington.
Millington deployed his Taser five times before Dziekanski’s arms were handcuffed behind his back. An ambulance was called after one of the officers noticed Dziekanski’s ears had turned blue, and he was later declared dead by paramedics.