| Vancouver Sun |
Friday, March 28, 2008
METRO VANCOUVER - The border officers who dealt with Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski in the hours before his Tasering and death described him later in written statements as "groggy," "dishevelled" and "visibly fatigued."
But those same officers didn't find his behaviour cause for concern - with some chalking it up to nothing more than the result of a long flight and his frustration at not being able to communicate with them in English.
The Canada Border Services Agency provided the officers' statements to The Vancouver Sun in response to an Access to Information request. Some of the details in the statements were summarized by the CBSA in a report on the Dziekanski matter released publicly last November.
However, the 12 pages of statements provide, for the first time, first-hand accounts of Dziekanski's demeanour from those who dealt with him in the moments before his death.
In response to The Sun's request, the CBSA also released surveillance footage that shows Dziekanski wandering around the customs and baggage-claim hall, where he spent more than six hours without being noticed by anyone from the CBSA. Dziekanski's flight arrived in Vancouver at 3:20 p.m. on Oct. 13.
At about 4:05 p.m., Dziekanski was cleared through passport control and, because he had an immigrant visa, was referred on to the immigration inspection area. However, Dziekanski didn't go directly to immigration and spent the next six hours wandering around the baggage-claim hall.
During that time, at about 7 p.m., CBSA officer T. Zadravec received a call from Dziekanski's stepfather, who said he and Dziekanski's mother had been waiting for him for five hours.
Zadravec wrote in his statement that he looked around the immigration area but couldn't find anyone who fit Dziekanski's description. Dziekanski's stepfather then told Zadravec that they would be going home to Kamloops.
Zadravec confirmed with the man that Dziekanski had his mother's cellphone number and then hung up. At about 10:35 p.m., Dziekanski tried to exit the customs hall.
"The male continuously attempted to try to communicate in what appeared to be Polish to me and seemed frustrated at the fact I was unable to understand him," wrote CBSA officer K. Bharya, who dealt with Dziekanski when he tried to exit.
"The male did make mention of something about Kamloops and his mother, but those were the only words I understood."
Along with another officer, Bharya escorted Dziekanski to the immigration area. CBSA Acting Superintendent Alex Currie, who was there when Dziekanski arrived, wrote that he "appeared 'groggy,' which is not uncommon after a long flight ... but he did not appear to have any medical issues and was cooperative with me."
Currie stated that Dziekanski was given water five or six times. She wrote that Dziekanski, while visibly tired, "did not display any signs of erratic or aggressive behaviour."
And she stated that, over all, she was satisfied that the officers who dealt with him "exhibited professionalism, courtesy and excellent client services."
Dziekanski was interviewed by CBSA officer Juliette van Agteren. "The passenger was visibly fatigued and somewhat dishevelled showing some impatience consistent with behaviour displayed after a long flight and frustrations due to lack of English skills," van Agteren wrote in her report, though adding: "At no time did he display any signs of behaviour that would be cause for concern."
As Dziekanski was being interviewed, Zadravec told van Agteren about the call he had received earlier from Dziekanski's relatives and informed her that they had probably gone back to Kamloops by now. Van Agteren left a message for Dziekanski's mother at a phone number he provided. She then went out to the reception area to see if his relatives were still at the airport, but wasn't able to find them.
Because of Dziekanski's language difficulties, CBSA officer Adam Chapin, who speaks some Polish, was asked to assist van Agteren with the interview.
"The client appeared dishevelled, his hair was uncombed and his shirt was untucked," Chapin wrote in his statement.
After assisting with Dziekanski's interview, Chapin went on to deal with other passengers. Later, after noticing Dziekanski was still sitting in immigration, Chapin told him he could go, and escorted him to the exit.
"Upon exiting the immigration [area] the subject did stumble at one point but was able to steady himself with the cart," Chapin wrote. "The subject walked the rest of the way ... without difficulty." As Chapin walked Dziekanski to the exit at 12:45 a.m., he wrote, "I wished the subject goodnight and he wished me goodnight and said thank you (in Polish)."
During his time dealing with Dziekanski, Chapin wrote, he did not exhibit any "hostile or angry" behaviour. Just minutes after exiting customs, Dziekanski began behaving erratically - walking back into a secure area that connects customs with the public reception area, pacing and throwing items against a glass wall.
RCMP officers were soon called to the scene, where they shot Dziekanski with a Taser and restrained him on the ground. He died shortly after.
At 2:10 a.m., Chapin wrote, he got a call from Dziekanski's mother, inquiring about her son.
"I told her I was about to leave work and that I would look for him on my way out," wrote Chapin. "I told her that if I did find him I would bring him to the immigration office so that he could call her back. I took her name and phone number."
Chapin walked out into the public area of the airport and began looking for Dziekanski, but could not see him anywhere. He then walked outside, where he came across an RCMP officer. He asked the officer if he had seen a Polish man.
"I told him I was trying to pass on a message," wrote Chapin. "The RCMP officer then took me inside to get some details. It is at this point that I observed [Dziekanski] on the floor by the visitors' booth being attended to by paramedics. About 30 seconds later they pronounced his death."
When the CBSA released its report in November, president Alain Jolicoeur apologized for the agency not finding Dziekanski during the six hours he spent wandering around customs.
"I'm very, very sorry and I really wish we would have found out about Mr. Dziekanski before, but it's a difficult thing to do," he said, noting the area is the size of two football fields.
CBSA spokesman Faith St. John said the agency has since made several changes to its procedures, including:
- Updating its list of officers who can speak languages other than English or French.
- Increasing patrols and security checks in the customs hall.
- Purchasing more surveillance cameras.
- Developing a way to ensure that travellers who are referred on to immigration report to the area within a reasonable period of time.
(To read background documents related to this story, check out The Sun's Paper Trail blog at www.vancouversun.com/papertrail/)
cskelton@png.canwest.com
Related links:
Video: Security footage of the incident
PDF: Read the CBSA officers' statements
Related: RCMP under scrutiny for censoring Taser incident reports
Archive gallery: Dziekanski's memorial and mother
Archive: Reports differ on whether Dziekanski had pulse, was breathing
Archive: Taser victim's Polish widow speaks exclusively
Chad Skelton's blog: The Paper Trail
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