Officers involved may not testify at public hearing into beating death of Myles Gray

A 10-week public hearing into the actions of Vancouver police officers involved in the 2015 beating death of Myles Gray will begin next week.

A 10-week public hearing into the actions of Vancouver police officers involved in the beating death of Myles Gray will start next week—but the officers involved may not testify.

Gray died in August of 2015 during a violent confrontation with seven members of the Vancouver Police Department in a Burnaby backyard.

B.C.’s Police Complaint Commissioner ordered the public hearing to determine if any of the officers committed misconduct—and what should happen if they did.

The day Gray died, police were initially called for a complaint he had sprayed a woman with a garden hose.

A 2023 coroner’s inquest heard the first responding officer, Const. Hardeep Sahota, attempted to question Gray.

Sahota claims Gray became combative and she felt threatened, so she called for backup.

By the time two other officers arrived, Gray had wandered into the backyard of a house.

Sahota told her colleagues, Const. Kory Folkestad and Const. Eric Birzneck, Gray “wants to fight” and the three of them then followed Gray into the backyard.

Within minutes, a total of seven officers were involved in the violent confrontation during which they tied Gray’s ankles together with a device known as a hobble.

The last four officers to arrive were Const. Derek Cain, Const. Josh Wong, Const. Beau Spencer, and Const. Nick Thompson.

The coroner’s inquest heard officers pepper-sprayed Gray, delivered baton strikes to his legs and lower body, put him in a neck restraint and punched, kicked and kneed him.

By the time the altercation was over, Gray was restrained by the hobble and handcuffs, and several officers held him in a prone position for several minutes until they realized he was not breathing.

Firefighters and paramedics were not able to resuscitate him, and he was pronounced dead in the yard.

An autopsy revealed Gray suffered a broken nose, broken jaw and fractured orbital bone, a crushed larynx and ruptured testicles.

The Independent Investigations Office, B.C.’s police watchdog, investigated the circumstances surrounding Gray’s death and forwarded a file to Crown for consideration of charges of manslaughter, assault and assault causing bodily harm against the officers.

The B.C. Prosecution Service chose not to pursue charges, in part because the only witnesses were the officers themselves.

“While all officers describe Mr. Gray as resisting and offering a threat to the officers present, accounts of what he and the officers actually did at each stage of the encounter vary considerably,” the BCPS said in a statement at the time.

“With limited exceptions, the officers present have spoken only to their own use of force, without describing the actions of others. In many respects, the contradictions between officers’ accounts in key areas are incapable of resolution such that it is difficult to determine a coherent narrative of events … with any reasonable degree of confidence.”

Because the public hearing could lead to discipline under the Police Act, the officers do not have to testify.

“They can’t be obligated or forced to take the stand and give evidence if they wish not to do so,” said Sarah Leamon, a Vancouver criminal lawyer who is not involved in the hearing.

“Now, if a witness decides not to take the stand, then the adjudicator can make inverse findings against them. So, they can make findings that are against their interests.”

Although none of the officers appear on the preliminary witness list, they could still choose to testify at some point during the hearing.

The seven officers could also be found to have breached the Police Act for failing to take notes on the day of Gray’s death.

The coroner’s inquest heard some of the officers did not submit notes about what happened until several months later.

Retired B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Arnold-Bailey has been appointed to adjudicate the hearing.

At its conclusion, she will have to decide if any of the officers committed misconduct, and if they did, what the consequences should be.

Under the Police Act, options for discipline can include loss of rank, suspension and even dismissal from the force.