RCMP officers appeal ruling on Taser inquiry's jurisdiction
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 | 1:31 PM PT
The Canadian Press
Clockwise from top left, Const. Gerry Rundel, Const. Bill Bentley, Cpl. Monty Robinson and Const. Kwesi Millington were not charged in the death of Robert Dziekanski. (CBC)The four RCMP officers involved in Robert Dziekanski's death will appeal a court decision that allows a provincial public inquiry to make findings of misconduct against them.
The four Mounties challenged commissioner Thomas Braidwood's authority to allege misconduct against officers on the federal police force — something the commissioner has warned he'll consider when he writes his final report.
But a B.C. Supreme Court judge recently dismissed their claims, prompting the officers to take the case to the B.C. Court of Appeal.
A lawyer for the officer who fired the Taser, Const. Kwesi Millington, has already filed his appeal and the others are expected to follow.
David Butcher, who represents Const. Bill Bentley, said the case raises important constitutional questions about a provincial inquiry's authority over federal police officers.
"It involves an analysis of the division of powers between the provincial government and the federal government," said Butcher on Tuesday.
The appeal proceedings will likely unfold at the same time as the Braidwood inquiry into the death of Dziekanski resumes in the fall, said Butcher.
Dziekanski — a Polish immigrant who had just arrived in Canada — died after being jolted several times with a stun gun by RCMP officers at Vancouver International Airport in October 2007.
Prosecutors in B.C. decided last year not to charge the officers, but Braidwood is considering a number of allegations made during the inquiry, including that they lied about what happened at the airport that day.
