A Police Act investigation into the 2015 death of Myles Gray, who was 33, has cleared seven Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officers accused of abuse of authority, six of whom were also accused of neglect of duty.
The investigation, carried out by Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord, serving as discipline authority, is the latest in a series of investigations into the fatal encounter in Burnaby, B.C.
Gray’s sister, Melissa Gray, said she was not surprised by Dubord’s findings.
“This is a joke,” she said, adding that she had lost faith in the system. “My hope was, at the very least, they would be taken off the job.”
Myles Gray died after a struggle with police in a shrouded backyard in Burnaby, B.C., in August 2015. His injuries included ruptured testicles, a broken voice box, a fractured eye socket and widespread bruising.
Prior to the struggle, Gray was making a delivery for his Sechelt-based florist business when police were called after he confronted a South Vancouver homeowner for watering her lawn during that summer’s extended drought.
Previous investigation
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) looked into Gray’s death and forwarded a report to Crown in the belief the officers may have committed a crime.
But in December 2020, the B.C. Prosecution Service announced that none of the officers would be criminally charged, in part because of the lack of witnesses and uncertainty surrounding the cause of death.
A coroner’s inquest into the case concluded last year that Gray’s death was a homicide. The jury’s recommendations included the use of body cameras with audio-recording capability for all patrol officers in the city and a review of the VPD’s de-escalation and crisis containment training.
The process that led to the Police Act investigation that concluded this week was originally launched just six days after Gray’s death. It was suspended while the IIO investigation took place and resumed in 2021.
Limited scope
In his report, Dubord noted the limitations of the discipline hearing proceedings. There was very limited witness testimony and no cross-examination.
“With no testing of the evidence or arguments — with no counterweight — any Discipline Authority will be confined to the findings arising on the available evidence, which may be untested and might be incomplete,” wrote Dubord in his 85-page report, which has been obtained by CBC News.
He added that he had to assess each officer’s actions on an individual basis rather than their collective actions.
Dubord found that the allegations of abuse of authority by using unnecessary force — faced by constables Kory Folkestad, Eric Birzneck, Derek Cain, Josh Wong, Beau Spencer, Hardeep Sahota and Nick Thompson — were not substantiated.
He also found the allegations of neglect of duty against all except Birzneck, who didn’t face the accusation, were also not substantiated.
VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison sent CBC News a written statement about the report.
“We thank the Delta Police Department for its independent Police Act investigation and analysis of the facts,” said Addison.
“This investigation has taken far too long — almost a decade — and has caused significant stress on everyone involved and their families,” he said, referring to the multiple investigations into Gray’s death that have taken place since 2015.
Next steps
The Police Act investigation report now goes to B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC), which said in a statement it is reviewing Dubord’s decision. The OPCC can send the case for further review by a retired judge.
For Melissa Gray, there isn’t much hope further review will result in consequences for the officers responsible for her brother’s death.
“How far are we going to push this?” she said. “I just don’t know if it’s even worth it.”
“My parents are a shell of who they used to be. I don’t have a sibling, and I have to navigate it on my own,” she said through tears. “I feel just really done with everything.”
Gray said there’s still the possibility of launching a civil case against the VPD and its officers once all the investigations and reviews have concluded.