The public inquiry into the death of a Polish immigrant hit with an RCMP Taser at Vancouver airport will not review the way police investigate themselves.
The lawyer for Robert Dziekanski's mother wants the matter of internal police investigations added to the inquiry's mandate.
But B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal has rejected the request.
"It is being discussed,'' Oppal says. "But it won't be a part of this commission of inquiry.''
Oppal says his ministry is already examining an earlier report which proposed 91 changes to the Police Act.
"We are going to be amending the complaint process and the whole issue of police investigating themselves later on in this session,'' he says.
The province signalled its intention to overhaul the Police Act last week, in its speech from the throne.
Walter Kosteckyj, who represents Dziekanski's mother, says there's concern about the way RCMP handled the initial investigation into the Oct. 14, 2007 death.
Dziekanski, 40, became agitated after spending hours lost in the secure arrivals area of Vancouver International Airport after a long flight from Frankfurt, Germany.
RCMP were called in after Dziekanski flung a chair at a glass partition and tossed a computer to the floor. By the time four RCMP officers arrived, Dziekanski, who spoke only Polish, had barricaded the exit to the reception area.
Video footage taken by a bystander shows Dziekanski being hit at least twice with a Taser jolt and then being wrestled to the ground by the officers. He died within minutes.
Taser International, which manufactures the weapon, maintains the death cannot be blamed on the device, which immobilizes people with an electrical shock.
The criminal investigation into the incident is continuing and a coroner's inquest has been scheduled for May.
A public inquiry it to get underway shortly. The first phase of the inquiry will look at the overall use of Tasers by B.C. law enforcement officials while the second will look specifically at the circumstances surrounding Dziekanski's death.
