Tragicomedy Without A Punchline: Polish Speaking Airport Worker Could Have Prevented Dziekanski Killing

by matttbastard

Noted without comment:

Minutes after Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski picked up a Vancouver airport computer and threw it at a glass wall, a Polish-speaking airport worker wandered into the facility’s operations centre to pick up some paperwork.

Slovakian immigrant Karol Vrba was in the room on Oct. 14 when the pair of calls came in reporting Mr. Dziekanski’s erratic behaviour, but was never asked to help, even though he is conversant in Polish and Russian, the language bystanders told authorities the 40-year-old Pole was speaking.

“I feel really upset because I saw that video of what they did to him and it could have been prevented. Definitely,” he said yesterday.”

h/t JJ Hippie and April Reign

Related:

• BC’s provincial government orders a full public enquiry into Mr Dziekanski’s death. Are you paying attention, Stockboy? (h/t Holly Stick)
• Dr Dawg expands upon his proposal for a new federal police force to replace the RCMP.
• Frank Frink gives TASER International some sincere, heartfelt advice with regards to bogus intimidation tactics and “electronic control devices™^SM®^{OMFGWTFBBQ!!!1}“.

  Related: The Canadian Press: “Three out of four suspects stun-gunned by the RCMP were unarmed, indicates a review of 563 cases that shows [electronic control devices™^SM®^{OMFGWTFBBQ!!!1}] are often used for compliance rather than to defuse major threats.” CP also notes that many of these cases ” involved First Nations.” (h/t pale)

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers