Rather than trying to muzzle the commissioner in the inquiry into the taser killing of Robert Dziekanski, the RCMP should hope for a full clearing of the air, accept the deserved criticism and move on. By going to court to try to block a British Columbia inquiry from making findings of misconduct against the RCMP, the Mounties show themselves to be afraid of the truth. They must believe the truth is very bad.
In that, they are right. The truth is very bad. But the RCMP cannot squelch it now. It is already out. Anyone with a computer can watch the videotape recording made by a bystander at the Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14, 2007. It shows a woman, without fear, approaching to help Mr. Dziekanski, an unarmed, distressed immigrant who had been waiting 10 hours for his mother. Then four officers arrive and almost immediately, and without provocation, brutalize him. Trying now to block an impartial commissioner from reaching some harsh conclusions makes the force seem detached from reality.
Sadly, the attempt to muzzle is consistent with the RCMP's practice of denial, obfuscation and falsification ever since Mr. Dziekanski's needless death. The Mounties announced their officers had tasered Mr. Dziekanski twice, though the real number was five times. They said Mr. Dziekanski had fought back when he hadn't. They sent investigators to Mr. Dziekanski's homeland, Poland, to dig up meaningless dirt on his supposed drinking habits and relationships. Neither the suppressing of the facts nor the diversionary tactics prevented the truth from getting out. It only made the national police force appear to be covering up for its mistakes, further undermining the public's trust.
After trying to distort the incident, the force now wants a gag order. Federal officers, it says, are beyond the scope of Thomas Braidwood's authority. Mr. Braidwood is the public's impartial representative, a former B.C. Court of Appeal judge named by the province to apply his ability to get to the bottom of things. He has the public's trust.
The RCMP was supposed to be entering an era of accountability. The days of "the public doesn't have a right to know anything" (a public-relations officer's comment after a previous incident) were supposed to be over. The RCMP seems arrogantly to believe, still, that the public has no right to know, or to judge.