Updated: Tue Jan. 27 2009 20:38:22

ctvbc.ca

A Richmond fire captain, speaking at the Braidwood Inquiry, says the Mounties who used a Taser on Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport obstructed firefighters when they came to help the Polish man.

Once the RCMP had Dziekanski under control on that early morning in October 2007, they called for medical help.

Captain Kirby Graeme of Richmond Fire & Rescue told the inquiry that he found Dziekanski lying face-down on the floor with pale, waxy skin when he arrived at the airport.

He says four Mounties were standing several metres away and weren't doing anything to help Dziekanski, and in fact refused at first to remove his handcuffs.

"Well, we need to take the handcuffs off so we can possibly access the patient. The Mounties replied back, he's been violent we're not taking the cuffs off," said Graeme.

They checked his vital signs as best they could, but could find no pulse.

Graeme calls the Mounties' conduct "unprofessional", and says they only removed the cuffs after paramedics arrived later, but that time it was too late to save Dziekanski.

When the handcuffs were finally removed, Greame said he did not think Dziekanski was alive from looking at him.

Captain Graeme will be on the stand again on Wednesday, and could be cross-examined again by any of the 12 lawyers at the inquiry.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger, and files from The Canadian Press.