Taser did not kill Robert Dziekanski, the Vancouver RCMP police did; expert

This comes from the Times Colonist (CanWest) today;

Donald Van Blaricom, the former chief of the Bellevue, Wash., police department, said the officers should have made Dziekanski sit up as soon as possible after he was Tasered to help him breathe normally. He said Dziekanski's resistance after being handcuffed might have been due to his inability to catch his breath.

The 2005 B.C. Police Complaint Commissioner report concluded many Taser-related deaths are likely due to the way suspects are restrained after being Tasered, rather than the Taser itself. The report recommended that following a Taser shock, a subject should be restrained in a way that allows him to breathe easily, preferably face up.

After watching the video several times I noticed that it took about 90 seconds for four policemen to handcuff Mr. Dziekanski. During this time at least one policemen sat on top of Mr. Dziekanski, feet off the floor, and all this time he was restrained on his back.

Nevertheless many conclude that the tasering itself was unnecessary, including this policing expert;

Michael Lyman, a policing expert at Columbia College in Missouri, said the four officers on the scene should have been able to physically restrain Dziekanski [..]:
"I don't even think batons or mace would have been necessary, given that there were four officers on the scene."

A report into the use of Tasers commissioned by B.C.'s Police Complaint Commissioner in 2005 recommended that Tasers should be used only against a subject who is actively resisting arrest or posing a risk to others, not someone who is simply "passively resisting."

How long do we have to wait until these four officers involved be arrested and put on trial for manslaughter? According to some bloggers these four Vancouver RCMP officers are still on duty, WITH tasers.

An appalling thought.

- Times Colonist: Footage appears to conflict with RCMP
- 2005 BC Police Complaint Commissioner Report on Taser