The inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski in the Vancouver Airport after being Tasered 5 times by RCMP officers has exploded across the national and international media again following the testimony of Richmond Fire Capt. Kirby Graeme. Graeme called the RCMP officers “unprofessional” and said the RCMP officers even “obstructed” paramedics who wanted to help Dziekanski.

An aspect of this story that has received almost no coverage, though, was the attack on the Canadian government issued by the Polish Embassy.  When deciding not to lay charges against the RCMP officers, the BC Criminal Justice Branch released this utterly bizarre “assessment” of the case, which is literally nothing more than several pages of  criticism of Dziekanski as a person, and includes essentially no discussion at all of the actual issue, the conduct of the RCMP officers. The Polish Embassy called the BC government’s report “disappointing” and “disconcerting”: “It appears that the main reason for Mr. Dziekanski’s death was his fear of flying, tiredness and lack of ability to communicate in English.” The Embassy also objected to the “factually baseless” but repeated “insinuations” of Dziekanski being an alcohol abuser.