Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story contained a video which indicated that Bradley Hickford, the lawyer representing the hearing, was the man speaking in the audio. In fact, the matter is currently under investigation by the BC Law Society and no determination has been made as to who made the statement. Mr. Hickford denies he said the remarks. Our previous statement is retracted.
The public hearing into the police beating death of Myles Gray has been adjourned until Monday due to a remark made by an individual, which was captured on a microphone.
A person could be heard on the livestream midway through Wednesday’s testimony saying another person was “stupid” and then using an obscenity that is sometimes used to describe a woman in a derogatory way.
The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner, which is holding the hearing into Gray’s death, confirmed in an email statement that the hearing will resume on Monday.
“It is our understanding that certain obscene language was captured by the audio stream of the hearing. The use of inappropriate language during a public hearing is serious and unacceptable,” Rachel Huggins, the Deputy Police Complaint Commissioner, Police Accountability, told Global News in the statement.
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The Law Society of B.C. confirmed it is aware of the matter and has opened a file to investigate the concerns.
The inquest into Gray’s 2015 death is expected to last 10 weeks.
Gray died after an altercation with seven Vancouver police officers, leaving him with injuries including ruptured testicles and fractures in his eye socket, nose, voice box and rib.
The officers have all denied allegations of abuse of authority and neglect of duty related to Gray’s death, but it’s not clear whether any of them will testify, since the police complaint commissioner cannot compel them to do so.
None of them have ever been charged or disciplined over Gray’s death.
Gray’s family sought the hearing after a disciplinary authority cleared the seven officers of misconduct in 2024, and Margaret Gray, his mother, was the first witness to testify on Monday.
She did say her son was “acting odd” two weeks prior to his death and under cross-examination, Gray said she stated Myles had been using marijuana for approximately two months prior and it altered his behaviour, but “he was never violent and he was never aggressive.”
She said she hopes the hearing reveals the full truth about her son’s death, and why “accountability failed,” after none of the officers involved in the fatal altercation were ever charged.
–with files from The Canadian Press
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