It was 2015 when Myles Gray died following a confrontation and beating involving several Vancouver police officers.
A coroner’s inquest followed, which classified the 33-year-old’s death as a homicide.
Now, nine years after Gray’s death, a Police Act investigation has determined none of the seven officers’ actions involved misconduct.
Allegations of abuse of authority and neglect of duty have been deemed “not substantiated.”
“I’m pretty upset but I’m not surprised by it. It has been nine years of this where we’ve gotten nowhere. So it’s just another hit,” Myles Gray’s sister Melissa Gray told Global News.
The Police Act investigation involved Constables Beau Spencer, Hardeep Sahota, Kory Folkestad, Josh Wong, Nick Thompson, Derek Cain and Eric Birzneck.
Findings are included in this 85-page report obtained by Global News.
The report was conducted by Discipline Authority Neil Dubord, who is Delta’s police chief.
In the report, Dubord states in part, “Even if the officers were each employing an objectively justifiable amount of force, it can be argued that at some point the use of force by all of them collectively, tilted over to become excessive and unnecessary force.”
He also says, “Police Act discipline proceedings are entirely unlike trials or many administrative tribunal hearings. The evidence is almost totally a written record, and there is no cross-examination.
“While the respondent officers may challenge findings …. the converse is not true: there is nobody there to challenge the officers’ evidence or submissions. It is a strangely lopsided process.”
Ian Donaldson, lawyer for the Gray family said the outcome was disappointing.
“I find it unfortunate regrettable, terrible, horrible, shocking that this form of interaction is found to be not blameworthy,” he said.
“If the problem is the Police Act, then the Police Act ought to be revisited with being mindful of the need for accountability without requiring people to incriminate themselves.”
Dubord’s report also states, “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.”
Melissa Gray said the report “doesn’t make sense.”
“Why, after nine years, are we going to keep going and going hitting roadblock after roadblock? For what?” she said.
“There’s been so much pain and agony and anguish and just nothing.”
In a statement, the Vancouver Police Department told Global News the investigation had taken “far too long, and has caused significant stress on everyone involved and their families”
“Because this decision must now be reviewed by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, we are unable to speak further about this issue,” the department added.
Complainants can now request a review by a retired judge, involving a public hearing or Review on the Record.
The police complaint commissioner can also make recommendations.