The death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver's airport has eroded public confidence in the RCMP among Canadians who feel police used too much force when they shocked him with a Taser.
A poll by The Canadian Press-Harris Decima found 61 per cent of those surveyed felt the officers used excessive force when they confronted Dziekanski and stunned him several times.
Thirty-six per cent said Dziekanski's death and an ongoing public inquiry has decreased their confidence in Mounties, while about half said it's had no effect.*
The inquiry has heard from three of the four RCMP officers who were involved in Dziekanski's death, saying they felt the man was about to attack them with a stapler.
But 60 per cent of those polled said they didn't find that story credible.
Looks like a majority of us Canucks are not nearly as gullible as the Mounties think.
*I confess to being part of the 'no affect' group. I doubt my opinion of them could get any lower.
2 comments:
I'd like to give my heartfelt thanks to Paul Pritchard for his tenacity in getting his video into the public domain. But for him and his tape this affair would have been buried.
Does any of the readers know whether he's carrying the cost of the court-case necessary to cause the constabulary to release his video. Is there a fund?
Thanks for the chance to ask, fern.
As a child, I lived in various countries in Africa. Our various police forces were often castigated (often quite correctly) by North Americans.
Way back then, the 'Mounties' were repeatedly praised and lauded by critics of European "imperialism".
Now that I live in Canada, I see the reality daily, The incidents that gain publicity like this are only the tip of the iceberg. We have a quasi-military force of bullies and liars, and it can be terrifying to deal with them when you are on your own.
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