Gary Bass told Zofia Cisowski the police were deeply sorry Canadian police have apologised to the mother of a Polish man who died after being repeatedly shot with a Taser stun gun at Vancouver airport in 2007. Robert Dziekanski, 40, had travelled to Canada to live with his mother but got lost at the airport and was Tasered when he became agitated. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said lessons had been learnt and many changes in practices had been made. The police also reached a financial settlement with Mr Dziekanski's mother. Video footage taken by a bystander showed Mr Dziekanski writhing on the floor and screaming after being stunned, as four officers restrained and handcuffed him. He fell still and died minutes later. Choking back tears "I want to apologise for our role in the tragic death of your son, Robert Dziekanski," Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Gary Bass, told Zofia Cisowski at a joint news conference. "Your son arrived from Poland eager to begin a new life in Canada. We are deeply sorry he did not have that opportunity." Police pinned down Robert Dziekanski after he was stunned several times "I accept your apology," Ms Cisowski said, choking back tears. "It has been two and a half years since my son died at Vancouver airport, and there was not a single day that I did not try and analyse what could be done to try and avoid this tragedy." She added: "I am very tired. I have to close this chapter." Mr Dziekanski, who spoke no English, had flown from Poland to live in Canada with his mother but she had mistakenly told him to meet her in an airport arrivals area closed to the public. He waited there for hours and when he finally emerged to find his mother had left, he became distraught. Airport workers called in the police when he started shouting and throwing items from a desk. Mr Bass said the force did not acknowledge full responsibility for the death, only that the police "had a part to play along with many others on that night". He said police had learned from the incident, and that changes had been made including the way police now use weapons like Tasers. The amount of the financial settlement was not disclosed.



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