Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press
A special prosecutor is reopening the question of whether criminal charges should be laid in the death of Robert Dziekanski - and broadening that question to include RCMP officers' statements during the initial investigation and their subsequent testimony at the Braidwood Inquiry.
Richard Peck's decision, announced Tuesday, to review the two-year-old decision not to lay charges against the four Mounties involved in the fatal confrontation comes less than two weeks after retired judge Thomas Braidwood found the use of a taser on bewildered immigrant Robert Dziekanski was unjustified.
Mr. Peck will review the initial decision not to lay charges in the light of new information - expert opinions about the use of force - that came to light during the Braidwood inquiry, which presented its final report this month.
His mandate also includes looking at testimony officers gave at the inquiry to determine "whether their conduct was at any time contrary to any provisions of the Criminal Code or applicable provincial legislation."
Robin Baird, a spokesman for British Columbia's Criminal Justice Branch, said Mr. Peck will review all the evidence available to him, including the initial report from homicide investigators, the video of Mr. Dziekanski's death and transcripts from the inquiry, even though the officers' testimony cannot be used against them at a trial.
In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Braidwood said that anyone who provides false testimony to a commission such as his could be charged with perjury.
He did not comment on Mr. Peck's decision, but he did praise his abilities. "Mr. Peck is one of the top criminal lawyers in Canada, and I've got the greatest of respect for him," Mr. Braidwood said, noting that his own mandate specifically excluded the question of criminal charges.
The review is a welcome development in a case that has haunted the province and shaken confidence in Canada's national police force, New Democratic Party justice critic Mike Farnworth said Tuesday. "Mr. Peck is a highly respected special prosecutor - clearly he feels we need to go further with this and criminal charges may well be the outcome," Mr. Farnworth said.
RCMP Inspector Tim Shields said Tuesday that the force will keep its promise to "co-operate fully" with any processes that the government of B.C. deems necessary, including the special prosecutor.
None of the four officers involved in Mr. Dziekanski's death are currently on active duty. Corporal Monty Robinson is suspended and facing trial on charges of obstruction of justice in relation to a fatal collision in Delta in October of 2008. The other officers have been placed on administrative duty but none are currently at work.
Mr. Dziekanski died in October, 2007, after being tasered when he began acting erratically in the international arrivals area of the Vancouver airport. However, the report by Braidwood, issued less than two weeks ago, rejected testimony by Mounties that they believed Mr. Dziekanski was intending to attack them.
Mr. Braidwood also criticized "deliberate misrepresentations" made by the four officers involved about the incident, saying the statements were made to justify their actions. Several statements the officers made immediately after the incident were contradicted by a video shot by a bystander.
Mr. Peck is to conduct any prosecution and any appeal that may result.
With a report from The Canadian Press
Wendy Stueck