Call the cops

"Vancouver police, major crimes division."

"Yes, I'd like to report a murder. I think I saw a man murdered."

"Murder eh? That's a big deal crime. Where you see this murder?"

"It was on the internet. I saw it right on the internet."

"On the internet eh? That's real serious. That's like a snuff film or something."

"Yes exactly. I'm very frightened."

"Don't be scared okay. Tell me what you saw, could you tell where the crime took place?"

"Yes I can. It was right in Vancouver airport."

"What the..."

"That's right. Right there in the airport in front of witnesses and somebody video taped it and posted it on the net. I feel sick to my stomach. I just watched an innocent man get murdered. The killers were on him in seconds and they swarmed him and used some kind of weapon on him. He fell to the ground and they crushed him. There were four large men and they put all their weight on him. He was screaming in fear and then he just stopped moving and that was it, he was dead and nobody could help him."

"Uh, look mister are you talking about..."

"Yes, yes I am. Four men in some kind of police disguises killed a man as he begged for help. I demand that they be arrested. They pose a clear and present danger to society and the public at large. We can't allow murderers to roam our streets. What about the Prime Minister's get tough on crime slogans? Is that all lies and public relations garbage or are you going to do your job and investigate this crime? The evidence is right there, you can Google it."

"Okay, calm down there buddy. This will get handled by an internal..."

"An internal investigation! What happened to the law of the land? You've seen the footage, I know you have. What if it was your brother, trapped in an airport in Syria and they did that? Would you be okay with a cop looking at his co-worker and deciding to give him a month of administrative leave? No you fucking well wouldn't."

"Hey! No need to be swearing at me, eh."

"Well who should I be swearing at? Somebody needs to be sworn at long and loud. This is Canada not some corrupt dump of a third world pisspot where human life has no value. Since when do the RCMP get to act like Stasi? Look officer, people are pissed off and there better be some answers and I mean serious answers to these questions. Our national police force does not have the blessing of the public to murder innocent people in airports or on reserves or in alleys or anywhere fucking else. We want to see the wheels of justice turn and turn fast. We want those officers pulled from duty. We want those officers investigated and charged if that is what the incident warrants and from where I sit, there better bloody well be warrants. You can not sit on your ass and let this pass. Not here, not in Canada, not now, not ever."

"This matter isn't in my jurisdic..."

"Oh I know. Just like the Gambino family didn't operate on the other familia's turf. I get it, I think we all get it."

*Click*


Having debated whether I wanted to watch the disturbing footage from Vancouver airport, I finally decided I should see it. That could be me. That could be my friend. That could be anyone caught in a bureaucratic mix-up. There was no reason for the murder of Robert Dziekanski, none at all. There is no good reason for this matter to disappear into the endless funnel of police and government cover-up and complicity.

Mr. Stockwell Day, as Minister of Public Safety, I demand that you act in your capacity as an officer of the Queen's government and move to insure the safety and well being of the citizenry. Mr. Dziekanski was a guest in this country and he was murdered before he got to see the majesty of this land or the generosity and kindness of her people. A terrible crime was committed against him and his family and loved ones. Nothing can make up for that, but his memory and his mourners deserve justice and they deserve justice delivered swiftly and completely. Should your government decline to police the national police force, then we will know that all of your rhetoric about crime is just that, rhetoric. If you will countenance this level of state violence without protest or action, then you are unfit to serve in our name and on our behalf.

To the owners and operators of Vancouver International Airport, you are complicit in the death of an innocent man. At this juncture in history, we in the general public are being asked to sacrifice our freedoms and small liberties in the name of security. We are told repeatedly that these incursions upon our autonomy and privacy are necessary to battle terror. From this writer's perspective, I just witnessed a gross and deplorable breach of security, an act of abject terror and it resulted in a wrongful and wanton death. In the event that Mr. Dziekanski had been a hypothetical terrorist, he was left unattended for hour upon hour. If he had smuggled biological or chemical agents into the airport facility he would have been free to sow havoc. The very fact that he was not dealt with in any constructive manner over this protracted period of time is absolute evidence of a negligent failure of security on your part. You are culpable not only in the killing of an innocent man but for a gross breach of national security.

Right now, I am ashamed for my country. I am angry and disgusted and all of the faith and pride I ever felt for the proud image of the RCMP has been shattered.

My condolences to Robert Dziekanski's mother and family and my apologies, on behalf of my understanding of Canada and what she stands for, to the family and the people of Poland.