The Police Complaint Commissioner Prabhu Rajan has called a public hearing into the conduct of seven Vancouver Police officers and the subsequent death of Myles Gray on Aug. 13, 2015.
According to a news release from the commissioner’s office, Gray died after police responded to a 911 call and "used significant force to subdue and restrain him." The public hearing will determine whether police committed any misconduct.
As previously reported in Coast Reporter, in October the results of an inquiry into Gray’s death cleared the seven Vancouver Police Department officers involved. The press release noted that at the time, retired Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord, who served as discipline authority, “found that seven Vancouver police officers did not commit misconduct in the events that led to Myles Gray’s death,” citing “the framework for discipline proceedings under the Police Act has inherent limitations that restricted the testing of evidence and arguments from respondent members.”
“In this case, the discipline authority said that there were discrepancies and inconsistencies in member statements, which did not have the benefit of cross-examination and the evidence before him was limited,” the release said.
Gray was making deliveries for his Sechelt-based plant business in Burnaby on Aug. 13, 2015, when police were called to a dispute between Gray and a resident. The incident was reported to be about the woman watering her lawn on Southeast Marine Drive while water restrictions were in place due to drought conditions.
According to the 12-page ruling on his decision to hold a public hearing, Rajan wrote that “throughout the altercation, which lasted approximately six minutes, varying combinations of the seven respondent members applied force and restraints to Mr. Gray. This included punches, kicks, knee strikes, baton strikes, OC spray, a headlock, vascular neck restraints, a hobble, and handcuffs. The use of force caused numerous injuries to Mr. Gray, including dense bruising, lacerations, bleeding in his brain and testes, and fractures to his nose, right eye socket, third right rib, and cartilage in his throat.”
A pathologist report following Gray’s death said the 33-year-old died of cardiopulmonary arrest, complicated by police actions including "neck compression," blunt force injuries, holding Gray on his stomach while his arms were handcuffed behind his back, and the use of pepper spray.
In arranging a public hearing, the commissioner determined the proceedings would assist in "better understanding the truth of what happened and would allow for the best available evidence to be presented and tested in a transparent way before an independent adjudicator." Rajan is a civilian, independent officer of the legislature overseeing complaints, investigations and discipline involving municipal police in British Columbia.
The commissioner noted in the release, “The alleged misconduct in this case is serious and connected to a tragic loss of life, and there is meaningful uncertainty as to what happened. In such circumstances, it is appropriate for the public to know that the best available evidence has been gathered, tested, and considered before a final decision is made.”
A public hearing is a new hearing of evidence and testimony concerning the conduct of a police officer led by independent public hearing counsel and presided over by a retired judge. It is not limited to the evidence and issues considered during the discipline proceeding. Witnesses may be called and subjected to examination and cross-examination.
The family, and other parties, may be participants at the hearing. The hearing will be open to the public and media, unless restrictions are imposed by the adjudicator. An adverse inference may be drawn if a respondent member does not testify at the hearing.
The commissioner has appointed the Honourable Elizabeth Arnold-Bailey, retired BC Supreme Court Justice, to preside as adjudicator in these proceedings. It will be their responsibility to determine whether the officers committed misconduct, to determine appropriate disciplinary or corrective measures, if necessary, and to make recommendations, if appropriate.
Dates for the public hearing have not yet been determined, but are scheduled to begin at the earliest practical dates, which will be posted to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner website. Further details may be found in the Notice of Public Hearing, which is available here.
In 2023, a coroner's inquest jury concluded Gray's death was a homicide.
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