An inquest into the death of a Sunshine Coast man following an altercation with Vancouver police more than seven years ago is slated to begin Monday.
Myles Gray, 33, died in the back yard of a home on the Vancouver-Burnaby border on Aug. 13, 2015.
Coroners inquests are mandated by B.C. law in any case where someone dies in an interaction with police. The coroner’s jury will be charged with determining the facts in the death and making recommendations to prevent similar deaths, and cannot find fault.
The inquest will be held at the Burnaby Coroner’s Court under presiding coroner Larry Marzinzik.
Gray’s mother, Margie, is scheduled to testify on day one of the inquest.
Over the 10 days of the proceedings, the inquest is scheduled to hear from a total of 41 witnesses, including seven officers facing potential discipline in the death, other officers who attended the scene, paramedics, firefighters, and the people who initially phoned police.
On the day of Gray’s death, police had been called to reports of a man allegedly confronting a homeowner for watering her lawn during a drought.
The nine police officers on scene were the only witnesses to Gray’s death. He was unarmed at the time.
The extent of his injuries were such that no cause of death was ever confirmed. An autopsy revealed he had suffered a rupture testicle, a fractured voice box, a broken nose, sternum and eye socket and a dislocated jaw, according to the BC Prosecution Service.
It also determined Gray had ingested Mitragynine, a substance commonly known as “Kratom,” and couldn’t rule out the possibility he had died solely due to factors unrelated to police use of force, including the use of Kratom or the condition known as “excited delirium.”
The prosecution service further said that Gray was was unconscious, restrained with hand and leg restraints and “suffering obvious injuries” within 20 minutes of officers first arriving, and wen
An investigation by B.C.’s civilian police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, filed a report to the prosecution service for consideration of charges, following a probe that was hampered by a lack of cooperation by some officers.
Crown prosecutors ultimately declined to press charges, stating that they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that officers had committed an offence.
However, seven of the officers may yet face discipline, including possible dismissal from the force, as a result of an ongoing investigation under the Police Act ordered by the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner.
That investigation found that allegations of abuse of authority related to use of force and neglect of duty related to failure to keep notes and reports may be substantiated.
Constables Beau Spencer, Hardeep Sahota, Josh Wong, Kory Folkestad, Nick Thompson, Derek Cain and Eric Birzneck could face a range of discipline for the abuse of authority allegations. The same officers, with the exception of Birzneck, are facing the neglect of duty allegations.
The officers are slated to face closed-door discipline proceedings starting this month.
“At these proceedings, the Discipline Authority will make their decision independently and, consistent with the requirements of the Police Act, determine how the matter proceeds,” Deputy Police Complaints Commissioner Andrea Spindler said in an email on Tuesday.
“There are no specific timelines in which the Discipline Authority must make their decision once a discipline proceeding begins. Discipline proceedings can be lengthy depending on the complexity of the matter, availability of counsel, requests for further investigation, the calling of witnesses, or other procedural rights afforded to the members at this stage.”
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