Robert Dziekanski, 40, of Pieszyce, Poland, was restrained by police with a taser at Vancouver International Airport on October 14, 2007 and died on the scene.
An agitated traveler, Dziekanski was being held in a security area at Vancouver International Airport when he began throwing things. Police arrived to subdue the man. Controversy exists over the amount of times Robert Dziekanski was tasered. Police say he was tasered twice. At least one witness thinks he was tasered four times — two of the times possibly simultaneously. The witness also says the the RCMP arrived at about 1:35 a.m. and that Robert Dziekanski was dead by 1:39 a.m.
There is also controversy about the use of physical retraint after Dziekanski was submissive and possibly unconscious. A police officer is shown in the video with his knee near the head and neck of Robert Dziekanski while he is lying on the ground.
Police use the term “Excited Delerium” to describe agitated or paranoid people. Police say pepper spray and batons were not an option.
Possibly 18 people have died after being stunned by tasers in Canada since 2003, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union is calling for the halt of the use of the taser.