A BC Supreme Court judge lopped yet another limb off the squirming, multi-legged monster that the Four Horsemen's defence has become.From improper delving into their victim's early life in Poland, to attempting to smear his reputation, to stupidly making up the same lies ("he came at us brandishing a stapler and screaming") in spite of a video that must by now be one of the most-circulated pieces of evidence in history, the killers of Robert Dziekanski have dug themselves into an ever-deeper and smellier pit.
They were ultimately reduced to putting up an "expert" whose pixillated "analysis" of the video appeared to cause even the usually taciturn Justice Braidwood considerable irritation. And then, the writing on the wall flashing in gigantic neon letters, they tried an end-run--appealing to the BC Supreme Court to enjoin Braidwood from finding any misconduct on their part.
Even the RCMP itself, which has by now apologized to Dziekanski's mother and pretty well admitted that all was not right in the Vancouver airport, officially refused to back that desperate move.
The last-ditch manoeuvre, in any case, was hammered down today:
Justice Arnie Silverman ruled Monday morning in Vancouver that the inquiry properly warned the officers that it might accuse them of using the Taser on Dziekanski when it was "not justified," of giving "misleading" testimony and of misrepresenting the facts.
The judge said the inquiry's commissioner, retired judge Thomas Braidwood, is entitled to make such findings in his final report into the October 2007 death and is not prevented by any lack of jurisdiction.
Closing submissions on Friday--if the charmers don't head off to the Supreme Court of Canada. But once again, with this lot nothing would surprise me.
UPDATE: Tawdry. Yes, that just about covers it.
FURTHER UPDATE: QOTW goes to Chris Selley: "[J]ust about everyone else in Canada has found misconduct; why shouldn’t Justice Braidwood?"
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