Polish consul general in Vancouver demands answers for death
Last Updated: Friday, October 26, 2007 | 6:49 AM PT
CBC News
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Poland has handed Canada a diplomatic note expressing concern and demanding answers over the death of Robert Dziekanski, 40, a Polish immigrant who died earlier in the month at Vancouver International Airport after being struck with a Taser by RCMP.
Robert Dziekanski, seen in this picture taken in Poland, was a construction worker in his home country.
(Global)
"Our government has sent a diplomatic note to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa informing her of our concern and asking about the investigation," said Maciej Krych, the Polish consul general in Vancouver.
Walter Kosteckyj, a lawyer for Zofia Cisowski, mother of Dziekanski, said Thursday the woman received no effective help at the airport as she tried for hours to meet her son on Oct. 14.
Dziekanski had become agitated after waiting more than nine hours to meet his mother who was looking for him in the terminal, the lawyer said.
Krych said Poland and other members of the European Union want answers.
"Can you imagine that similar situation happened to a Canadian citizen in any European country? What would [the] Canadian government do in a similar situation?" he said.
Police and a witness offered conflicting accounts about the number of Taser jolts Dziekanski received.
RCMP insist the man was zapped twice, but Sima Ashrafinia, who was at the airport and recorded the incident on her cellphone, told CBC News on Oct. 15 that RCMP officers stunned Dziekanski four times.
An autopsy by the B.C. Coroner's Service did not find the cause of death, citing no trauma or disease.
An inquest has been ordered and the RCMP continue to investigate the incident.
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