CTV News | Supervising officer says he ordered Dziekanski Tasered

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Supervising officer says he ordered Dziekanski Tasered

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CTV British Columbia: Correspondents on the officer's testimony

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CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Mon. Mar. 23 2009 6:58 PM ET

The senior RCMP officer on duty the night that Robert Dziekanski died testified Monday that he gave the order to stun the Polish man with a Taser.

Cpl. Benjamin Monty Robinson, the supervising officer that night, said he gave Const. Kwesi Millington the command after Dziekanski picked up a stapler.

"When he took the step forward, that's when I gave Const. Millington the command to deploy the Taser," Robinson said. "And at that point, the Taser was deployed."

In earlier testimony, Millington said Robinson only told him to use the Taser the third time it was used, when Dziekanski had already fallen to the ground.

Robinson is the fourth RCMP officer to testify in the inquiry. He has been a Mountie since 1996 and had been trained in Taser use, but that training had expired seven months prior to the incident.

Robinson said that Dziekanski didn't fall to the floor until after the second time he was hit by the Taser, even though a video taken by a bystander shows the second jolt came while the man was already on the ground.

As with the other three officers involved, there inconsistencies with between Robinson's testimony and what he originally told investigators about the incident.

He originally said that Dziekanski was holding the stapler high and wildly swinging it at the officers, but that doesn't appear on the video.

Robinson testified that he actually meant the Polish man was holding the stapler at his chest and took a step towards the Mounties.

"I agree, it's not articulated well," Robinson said on his original statement.

He also said officers had to wrestle Dziekanski to the floor, even though the video shows the man fell after being hit by the first Taser jolt. All four officers made the same mistake in their statements.

Robinson was the last of four RCMP officers to arrive at the Vancouver airport after receiving a call about a man throwing furniture.

He said there was no discussion between the officers as they walked into the airport's international terminal to confront Dziekanski.

With files from The Canadian Press

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