Robert Dziekanski’s mother says she has been haunted every day since her son died after being Tasered by the RCMP and writhing in pain on the floor of the Vancouver International Airport.
But on Thursday, saying she was ready to turn the page, Zofia Cisowski tearfully accepted a formal apology and a cash settlement from the RCMP, and called on authorities to make certain the "tragedy" is never repeated.
"It has been 2 1/2 years since my son died at the Vancouver airport. There was not a single day that I did not cry and analyze what could be done to avoid this tragedy," Zofia Cisowski told a packed news conference near the Vancouver airport, her voice cracking.
"I believe the sentiment in the apologies given by federal and provincial authorities will help begin the healing process and clear the path toward my future."
The RCMP apologized to Cisowski on Thursday, telling her they are "deeply sorry" for their role in her son’s death.
"On behalf of the RCMP, I want to apologize for our role in the tragic death of your son," said RCMP Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass at the news conference.
Dziekanski, 40, died at the airport on Oct. 14, 2007. He had been Tasered five times by a group of four RCMP officers who responded to a call.
Dziekanski, who was immigrating to Canada to live with his mother, became frustrated when, after a 20-hour flight from Poland, he had to spend another 11 hours in the international arrivals area of the airport. He was unable to contact his mother, who was waiting for him in another area.
"Your son arrived from Poland eager to begin a new life here in Canada," Bass said. "We are deeply sorry he did not have that opportunity."
Cisowski filed a lawsuit last October for damages against the RCMP, the four officers involved, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Vancouver Airport Authority.
The civil suit will be dropped against all parties, her lawyer said.
Along with the apology, Cisowski is also to receive an undisclosed financial settlement.
Bass said ongoing research into the Taser’s effects on the human body would be reviewed on a regular basis, an issue he said was important to Cisowski.
"We will have to make sure that what happened to my son, Robert, cannot be repeated," she said.
Cisowski also announced Thursday that a scholarship in her son’s name will be established at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., where Dziekanski had planned to live. The RCMP will commit $20,000 to that fund, to be awarded to a Canadian or international geography student.
Meanwhile, the RCMP used the news conference to recount changes made to their Taser-use policy since Dziekanski’s death, including restricting the weapon’s use to incidents of officer or public safety, annual recertification for trained users and enhanced reporting on all use-of-force incidents by RCMP officers.
However, Bass stopped short of acknowledging that the RCMP was to blame – a task that was assigned to retired appeal court judge Thomas Braidwood, who is due to deliver his second report in the coming weeks.
"Generally speaking, the RCMP could have done things better," Bass said. "We’ve learned from this situation and will continue to (do so)."
The head of the RCMP echoed those sentiments, calling Dziekanski’s death a "very, very sad day" in the history of the RCMP.
Speaking to the Ottawa Citizen’s editorial board, RCMP Commissioner William Elliott said one of his concerns was that public confidence in the organization had been shaken.
"We can’t provide services on which Canadians rely if they don’t trust us," he said. "We need to work very hard to try and do that to minimize the number of occasions where we misstep and, most importantly, to learn from our experiences."
Elliott added he still winces every time he sees the video of an agitated Dziekanski flash across a television screen.
"It was a disturbing image and a very disturbing event," he said. "At its most basic, we had a man die on national television. I think that’s very traumatic for everybody involved and I wince every time it’s played.
"One of the reasons why I do that is I really think it’s unfair to his mother and others to have that image repeated over and over again."
With files from the Ottawa Citizen
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