The two Mounties who had the greatest role in Robert Dziekanski's fatal confrontation with police -- the man who fired the Taser five times and his commanding officer -- did nothing wrong, their lawyers told a public inquiry Wednesday.
The officers acted reasonably under the circumstances, the inquiry was told, and reasonableness is the standard by which the RCMP officers should be measured, rather than judging, with the benefit of hindsight, whether their actions were correct.
The officers confronted Dziekanski at Vancouver's airport, and within seconds one of them stunned the Polish immigrant with a Taser.
Almost every aspect of their response has been criticized at the inquiry, from how they approached him and the use of multiple Taser stuns, to their efforts to provide medical attention after he collapsed on the airport floor.
They were also accused of lying to justify their actions, which they have denied.
Reg Harris, who represents the most senior officer at the scene, Cpl. Benjamin (Monty) Robinson, said in his final submission to the inquiry that the response at the airport was consistent with RCMP policies and training.
He said it was reasonable for the officers to believe Dziekanski, who had been throwing furniture minutes earlier and prompted several witnesses to call 911, was about to attack when he picked up a stapler.
"His (Robinson's) belief, with respect to (believing he was) about to be assaulted, is honestly held and reasonable," Harris said.
"The words are 'acted reasonably;' the words are not 'acted correctly or wrongly.' . . . There is a spectrum within those words."
Robinson has testified that he ordered Const. Kwesi Millington to use the Taser, although Millington said he didn't hear that and fired on his own.
Millington's lawyer, Ravi Hira, said what matters is what the officer believed at the time.
"Const. Millington perceived that the male was coming towards them and intended to attack or hurt the officers," said Hira.
"He did not believe that a lesser-force option would be appropriate."
Hira and Harris noted that those beliefs were also shared by several bystanders, who later told investigators that they, too, thought Dziekanski was about to become violent.
The lawyers also defended their clients against allegations of a coverup that have followed them throughout the inquiry.
Those accusations have been fuelled by apparent contradictions between the amateur video of the confrontation and the statements the officers made to homicide investigators shortly afterwards.
Many of the same mistakes were made by several or all of the officers, including that Dziekanski came at the officers with the stapler raised above his head, stood through the first Taser jolt and had to be tackled to the ground. They have been held up as proof the officers lied.
But Hira and Harris noted that other witnesses made the same mistakes when speaking to investigators, and said the inquiry heard no evidence that suggested the officers colluded in the hours before they provided their first statements.
"The suggestions of fabrication or deliberate efforts to mislead or collusion is not supported by the evidence and, in fact, there's a strong body of evidence to suggest completely otherwise," he said.
Harris also addressed concerns that no one monitored Dziekanski's condition after he was handcuffed and unconscious on the floor, or that it didn't happen often enough.
Harris again used the word "reasonable" to describe the care Dziekanski received.
"Mr. Dziekanski did not receive the treatment consistent with a medical doctor, a nurse, a firefighter, an ambulance. What was provided . . . was consistent with a similarly trained, experienced and situated officer," he said.
Robinson was also criticized for not immediately removing Dziekanski's handcuffs when firefighters arrived. He took them off eventually, but initially refused over concerns Dziekanski could become violent if he awoke.
"In hindsight, regrettable and sad. But at the time ... it was reasonable," he said.
Commissioner Thomas Braidwood has already warned the officers that he will consider a finding of misconduct, although that doesn't mean he necessarily will.
Lawyers for all four officers involved have now presented final arguments. On Thursday, lawyers for three senior Mounties -- two media relations officers and the superintendent who oversaw the subsequent investigation -- will make their submissions.
Lawyers for the airport, the union representing some of the airport employees, the City of Richmond, and Taser International are also scheduled to present their submissions.
