Four Mounties await ruling in application that could halt Dziekanski Inquiry

June 15, 2009
By THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER, B.C. — A B.C. Supreme Court judge is expected to decide today if a lengthy public inquiry can pass judgment on the actions of four RCMP officers who confronted Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport.

Justice Arne Silverman has spent the weekend considering an application submitted Friday by lawyers representing the four officers.

They want to prevent Commissioner Thomas Braidwood from making findings of misconduct when he writes his final report into Dziekanski's Oct. 2007 death.

The 40-year-old became agitated after spending hours lost at the airport and was stunned multiple times with a Taser and then pinned to the ground just moments after RCMP arrived to deal with him.

The four Mounties have received notice Braidwood may consider allegations they lied and acted improperly, but they argue the provincial inquiry does not have the authority to make findings against federal police.

If their application is rejected, the Inquiry's closing arguments are slated to begin Friday, but if some or all of the submission is accepted, the four-month long Inquiry could be stalled indefinitely.