A police psychologist sent an open letter to the mother of Robert Dziekanski saying the way her son was treated at Vancouver airport demonstrates the worst of Canadian policing.

In the letter to Zofia Cisowski of Kamloops, B.C., Dr. Mike Webster repeats much of what he told a public inquiry examining Dziekanski's death. The Polish man died after he was stunned five times with an RCMP Taser and subdued by Mounties at Vancouver's airport in 2007.

Webster's letter says the RCMP is led by an archaic, out-of-touch leadership that manages conflict with intimidation, not only with the public but also with its own membership.

Last week, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Bill Sweeney apologized for Dziekanski's death. The force has also apologized for its inaccurate public statements in the days that followed the airport incident.

"This is probably as close as you will come to a genuine apology from the RCMP," Webster writes.

"Unfortunately, the long history and rich tradition of the Force manifests itself today as arrogance and defensiveness."

'An elite group'

Webster says the RCMP executive is indirectly responsible for Dziekanski's death and he accuses the executive of being overly interested in maintaining a positive impression.

"They view themselves as somehow apart from the rest of us, an elite group whose safety is more important than that of the most unfortunate among us," he writes.

"We have become the `enemy' and they go to `war' with us each day, rather than collaborating with us to form a cohesive and consistent approach to policing our communities."

Webster, who has been associated with the RCMP for more than three decades, says the force's relationship with the public is symbolized by the black "slash" gloves worn by the four officers involved in Dziekanski's death. The gloves are not part of the regulation RCMP working uniform.

"Yes, they are worn for protection but they are also worn for psychological effect. They are worn, by some, to intimidate (without giving much thought to how they could be perceived by the general public).

"Unfortunately the idea of intimidating people is entirely consistent with the RCMP management's way of managing conflict not only with the public but also with its own membership."

Disappointment expressed

Webster's letter also took aim at the Crown decision not to approve charges against the officers who confronted Dziekanski, and the official statement that the level of force used by the officers was reasonable and necessary.

"This statement reflects a profound misunderstanding and lack of respect for the application of force to vulnerable groups and those in crisis," he writes.

"How could this happen in Canada?"

He calls the belief that the RCMP can investigate itself "psychologically unsophisticated," saying police, like all human beings, doesn't want to see things that make it look bad.

Webster makes it clear his criticisms are directed at the RCMP executive, not what he calls the "generally well-meaning and hard-working" individual Mounties.

He stresses that he is not biased in a negative direction toward the RCMP. He writes that he has the deepest respect for the force as an institution but very little respect for those responsible for the RCMP's present position and course.

"I wish I could tell you that the issues I raised here, and many others, that are rotting the RCMP from the top down will soon be changing," he writes.

"I won't do that as the RCMP is in need of significant transformational change in order to genuinely reconnect with the public and its own membership."

An RCMP spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Cisowski speaks out

In a statement, Cisowski said "nobody so far exposed the truth about the RCMP as Dr. Webster did."

Cisowski says the Mounties "neither attempted to preserve or protect" her son's life, and adds "the RCMP will never be trusted as long as they continue to investigate themselves."

Dziekanski died at Vancouver's airport after four RCMP officers were summoned to deal with the agitated man as he threw furniture around the arrivals area.

Dziekanski had wandered the airport for hours looking for his mother and was wielding a stapler when he was shocked multiple times by an RCMP Taser.

Sweeney told a Senate committee in Ottawa that the force is committed to learning as much as possible from the terrible event