'Dziekanski was no threat'

VANCOUVER - Eyewitness Sima Ashrafinia dismissed the idea that Robert Dziekanski could have used a stapler as a weapon against four well-armed RCMP officers who tasered and restrained him at the airport on the night of Oct. 14, 2007. ... Lawyers for the involved police officers tried [unsuccessfully] over many unscheduled hours of grilling Ashrafinia to shake her evidence that Dziekanski posed no threat to anyone. ... [LINK]


Dziekanski was tasered five times by the RCMP and died in minutes. Ashrafinia said that Dziekanski turned blue after tasering. "My God, he’s not breathing."


The Coroner found that the taser had contributed to Dziekansk's death.

I guess in the same way that the Sun contributes to bright sunny days.


Common sense indicates a closer causal relationship between the taser and the death in this case.

Fact - Dziekanski was tasered and immediately died. You can decide for yourself if you think that the following translation is valid or not: "Dziekanski was killed with the taser."


If you want to lump something into the category of a contributing factor, how about the obviously-defective taser training?


Other factors, such as pre-existing medical conditions, are (in common law) supposed to be taken, legally, as givens. The defendants are not to be given a pass because the victim happens to have some bodily weaknesses or imperfections.

Do not miss this old post from January 2008 for a clear-cut explanation of the legal doctrines regarding 'pre-existing medical conditions' - [LINK].