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WARSAW, Poland — Residents of a small Polish town gathered on Saturday to remember the 42-year-old townsman who died last year at a Canadian airport shortly after being stunned with taser guns by police.
A memorial mass for Robert Dziekanski was held in a Roman Catholic church in Pieszyce, a small town in southwestern Poland, the news agency PAP reported.
An urn holding half of his remains was then buried in the family grave at the town cemetery. Another urn remains in Kamloops, B.C., where his mother lives.
During the service, slides of Mr. Dziekanski were shown, while a priest expressed hope that his death would serve as a warning against the use of tasers.
The grave of Robert Dziekanski is seen at a cemetery in Pieszyce, Southern Poland. (Reuters)
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“I believe that Robert's death will be a strong and firm voice as well as a call not to use such weapons,” Rev. Edward Dzik was quoted by PAP as saying.
Mr. Dziekanski died last October at Vancouver International Airport, where he arrived after taking his first-ever flight to visit his mother, Zofia Cisowski, who lives in Canada. Ms. Cisowski also attended Saturday's service.
Mr. Dziekanski, who spoke only Polish, began acting erratically 10 hours after his arrival when he could not find his mother in the baggage area, a secure area she couldn't enter.
He was pronounced dead shortly after being struck twice with tasers by RCMP officers.
His death brought international attention and intense scrutiny of police use of tasers.
