As the Braidwood Inquiry continued on Tuesday, there was strong criticism of the actions of the four RCMP officers involved in the death of Robert Dziekanski. The Polish immigrant died after being shocked five times with a Taser.
Psychologist Dr. Mike Webster-- who has trained police forces around the world in negotiation and de-escalation techniques-- believes serious mistakes were made at Vancouver International Airport back in 2007. He says the officers failed to have a proper plan, that they enflamed the situation with 'too many cooks' ordering Dziekanski around, and he believes the Mounties acted like "fools".
"They panicked. They abandoned their basic training and they embraced their more recent, questionable Taser training, provided to them by their misguided employer," Dr. Webster said.
Webster's testimony contrasts with that of the RCMP use-of-force expert who gave Taser training to three of the officers. Cpl. Greg Gillis maintains that the members responded with appropriate force to a perceived threat, when Dziekanski grabbed a stapler as they surrounded him.
The Braidwood inquiry continues in Vancouver on Wednesday.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger.
