Straight Talk

Not guilty verdict for first of four RCMP officers charged with perjury in Dziekanski case

by Travis Lupick on July 29th, 2013 at 4:25 PM
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      The first of four RCMP officers charged with perjury in relation to the death of Robert Dziekanski has been found not guilty.

      Constable Bill Bentley was cleared of all charges by the B.C. Supreme Court today (July 29).

      Justice Mark McEwan ruled that Crown prosecutors only provided circumstantial evidence of perjury and that he could therefore not find Bentley guilty of a crime.

      Along with Const. Kwesi Millington, Const. Gerry Rundel, and former corporal Benjamin Robinson, Bentley was suspected of willfully concocting a false story.

      The Crown alleged that the four RCMP officers colluded to craft a version of events different from reality with the aim of clearing themselves of any wrongdoing in the case of Dziekanski.

      The Mounties were involved in the tazering and subsequent death of Dziekanski on October 14, 2007.

      Dziekanski, a construction worker from Poland, arrived at Vancouver International Airport and subsequently became visibly agitated after spending many hours stuck in the international arrivals area.

      The RCMP were eventually called. Upon their arrival, officers tazered Dziekanski five times, handcuffed him, and roughly put him on the ground. Shortly after, Dziekanski was dead. His death was ruled a homicide by the B.C. Coroners Service.

      Bentley and the other three officers suspected of perjury came under investigation during the 2009 Braidwood Inquiry into the death.

      A widely viewed amateur video of the RCMP’s handling of Dziekanski depicted events differently than the officers described them in their initial statements made to homicide investigators.

      Bentley’s lawyer argued that he did not conspire with the other officers named, and that any discrepancies in Bentley’s story were the result of confusion on account of the fast pace of events surrounding Dziekanski’s apprehension and death.

      The remaining three officers under investigation have separate trials scheduled for later this year and early 2014.

      You can follow Travis Lupick on Twitter at twitter.com/tlupick.

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      Travis Lupick

      @tlupick

      In one capacity or another, Travis Lupick has been associated with the newspaper since he was 15 years old. Having joined the Straight's editorial department in 2006, Travis quickly gained a reputation as the office's resident workaholic and hopeless caffeine junkie.

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      Comments

      11 Comments

      john sayre

      Jul 29, 2013 at 5:58pm

      Of course---police are seldom guilty of any transgression, This is disgusting.

      Ron S.

      Jul 29, 2013 at 7:02pm

      I wonder if anyone is surprised?

      Jiff

      Jul 29, 2013 at 10:41pm

      They should get with the program and just claim "inattentional blindness" as in the Paul Boyd shooting. "Confusion on account of the fast pace of events" doesn't sound nearly slick enough when excusing cops who suck at their jobs.

      brad

      Jul 30, 2013 at 3:42am

      Some how the video was not admitted as evidence, it is the only reason i see for him being innocent.

      Tarry

      Jul 30, 2013 at 4:12am

      Very disturbing. While there will always be a few "bad apples", we rely on our justice system to redres. When not there to hear how the evidence came out, difficult to understand what happened here. However, sounds like the crown came up short and that may be as a result of lack of preparation, skill, etc. Hopefully, for the next 3 trials, there will be crown prosecutors in place who pursue their role with the vigor, competence and commitment necessary to restore public confidence.

      Police State

      Jul 30, 2013 at 4:51am

      This is unsurprising. We live in a police state, which requires the support of the Courts. The Courts are the least democratic governing body one could imagine, being unelected and selected from a narrow slice of society (lawyers) most of whom have spent their lives before being judges as shills for corporate North America.

      Peter

      Jul 30, 2013 at 4:59am

      Incident after incident of police abuse of power and authority continues unabated in Canada. In the face of falling crime statistics who should we fear most?

      Juan Carlos

      Jul 30, 2013 at 7:40am

      In other news, the officers all went celebrating and drinking after the verdict. They were all stopped at a DUI road check, and all of them blew over the limit. And all of them were let go with a "stern warning", of course.

      Pinkman

      Jul 30, 2013 at 9:52am

      Hate to be the lawyer of the sole trial that doesn't win out of the four cases.

      RP

      Jul 30, 2013 at 10:13am

      So the cops all had the same made-up story, but they didn't "conspire" to come up with it? Just a crazy coincidence that in their confusion, they all wildly misperceived the same chain of events?

      Or is it that they're just liars, but get off because they didn't actually conspire to lie?