Reporter who covered Robert Dziekanski's death says there's more to the story than 'four bad-apple cops'

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RCMP officers involved in death of Robert Dziekanski were not "four bad apples," according to an author and long-time CBC reporter.

"It's tragic that Robert Dziekanski died," Curt Petrovich told The Current'sAnna Maria Tremonti. "He didn't need to die, it shouldn't have happened."

"I'm not an apologist for the police. I'm not an apologist for anything they did that night. That being the case, I had to ask myself 'is it justice?'"

In October 2007, Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who did not speak English, was moving to Canada to live with his mother.

When he arrived at the Vancouver International Airport he spent approximately 8 hours in customs.

Dziekanski eventually began acting erratically, smashing things inside the terminal.

Police were called and the situation quickly escalated, resulting in an RCMP officer tasering Dziekanski multiple times, who collapsed on the ground.

Ambulance attendants arrived but were unsuccessful in resuscitatingDziekanski.

The incident was caught on video by a bystander, andsparked a national conversation about police use-of-force, and whether the four officers and the RCMP tried to cover-up what really happened.

Petrovich has written a bookBlamed and Broken: The Mounties and the Death of Robert Dziekanski, which explores the complicated story.

"I started learning things there were a contradiction to that narrative, that you have four bad-apple cops who lied and tried to cover something up."

Click 'listen' near the top of this page to hear the full conversation.

Written by LitoHowse. Produced by John Chipman.