Officer lied about Robert Dziekanski's Taser death, Crown argues

A special prosecutor says he doesn't have to prove four Mounties colluded in order to convict one of them of lying about the death of Robert Dziekanski at the Braidwood Inquiry.

That argument came up as one of the officers on trial for perjury waged a legal battle to block part of the Crown's case against him.

RCMP Const. Kwesi Millington is on trial in Vancouver for perjury for allegedly lying to the Braidwood Inquiry, which investigated how Dziekanski died after being stunned several times by RCMP Tasers in the arrivals lounge of Vancouver International Airport in 2007.

One of the allegations is that Millington lied when he testified that he and his fellow officers never discussed details of the fatal confrontation, before they gave a statement to investigators.

Millington's former partner Const. Bill Bentley was acquitted of perjury last year after a judge found the Crown's evidence of collusion came up short.

Earlier this week, Millington's lawyer argued the Crown should be stopped from prosecuting Millington for collusion, arguing it amounts to a retrial.

But on Tuesday special prosecutor Eric Gottardi told the court the two officers are not the same accused, and the evidence against each is significantly different.

Gottardi also suggested the Crown does not need to prove there was a conspiracy amongst the officers, in order to prove they lied.

In any event, Gottardi argued, the judge who acquitted Bentley only found there wasn't enough evidence to support a theory of collusion — he didn't conclude it never happened.

The judge hearing Millington's case is expected to rule on the issue tomorrow.