The jury in the British Columbia coroner’s inquest into the death of Myles Gray nearly eight years ago won’t be allowed to see a photo showing the man’s injuries because the application was made too late, the coroner ruled Friday.
Larry Marzinzik said his view on admitting the photo would have been “very different” had the lawyer for Gray’s family, Ian Donaldson, brought it up earlier.
Gray, who was 33 years old, died in August 2015 after a beating by Vancouver police after a beating by police that left him with injuries including ruptured testicles and fractures in his eye socket, nose, voice box and rib.
Marzinzik agreed with Donaldson that the photo would most likely have added value for the jury at the proper time, but not as the inquest was coming to a close.
There was no application for photos to be admitted before testimony from officers involved in the struggle to restrain Gray or first responders who tried to revive him.
Marzinzik heard arguments from Donaldson, as well as Crown counsel and lawyers for Vancouver police, who opposed the admission of the photo, before deciding there was no longer an opportunity for witnesses to provide context for the jury.
He said evidence of Gray’s injuries have been well-documented for the jury through other materials and testimony. Before outlining his decision not to allow the photo, Marzinzik told the inquest he was “torn between complete transparency and proper procedure.”
Speaking to media on Friday, Gray’s mother, Margie Gray, said the photo Donaldson wanted to show the jury was taken in the backyard where her son died. She said procedure won over transparency in the coroner’s decision, and suggested witnesses could have been called back to provide context for the photo.
“Highly suspicious and it’s very telling that he’s not allowing those photos to be shown to the jury,” Margie said.
“I think a verbal explanation goes so far. They need to see the photos … they always talk about full transparency and accountability, so let’s see that full transparency.”
Of the 14 Vancouver police officers who testified at the inquest, most said they didn’t notice signs of injury besides redness on Gray’s face and some bruising.
Several firefighters and paramedics told a different story, including one who said the bruising was so severe he initially thought Gray was not a white man.
Margie accused Vancouver police of lying throughout the inquest and said the photos would show the jury the truth.
Dr. Matthew Orde, the forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy on Gray, testified Thursday that a “perfect storm” of factors led to his death, including his extreme physical exertion and the actions of police to restrain him.
“What we can say with some degree of certainty … is I don’t think he would have died when he did had it not been for the police interaction on that day,” Orde said.
The inquest heard Friday from a retired B.C. police officer turned trainer, Mike Massine, who testified as an expert in the use of force.
Critical incident and de-escalation training came into effect in B.C. in 2015, the year Gray died, although training has generally improved since then, he said.
Officers are taught to recognize signs of so-called “excited delirium” and told getting medical treatment for that person takes priority over any criminality, he added. But Massine said getting the person to a hospital requires physical restraint.
Several of the officers involved in the struggle to restrain Gray told the inquest they believed he was experiencing excited delirium, as he was sweating profusely, yelling nonsensically, and seemed to have “superhuman strength.”
However, Orde told the inquest this week that “acute behavioural disturbance” is a better term to describe what Gray was experiencing the day he died.
On occasion, it was thought “so-called excited delirium syndrome” could result independently in death, the pathologist said.
“But I think critical analysis of the published data suggests that’s probably quite unlikely,” Orde testified. “I’m not persuaded that there’s any good evidence that excited delirium syndrome can independently bring about death.”
Orde pointed to police actions including “neck compression,” blunt-force blows, the use of pepper spray, holding Gray on his stomach and handcuffing him behind his back as complicating factors in his death.
The inquest was expected to finish Friday after 10 days of testimony, but it was delayed over the debate about allowing the photo of Gray’s injuries.
Supt. Shelley Horne, head of personnel services for the Vancouver Police Department, is the last person set to testify before the end of the inquest.
Overall, Margie said she has been “very satisfied” with the inquest, because she got the “truth” in her son’s death through testimony from the pathologist and toxicologist.
“There was no indication of drugs or substances, testosterone or otherwise, in my son’s blood, and the pathologist said my son wouldn’t have died that day had he not been held down in restraints with weight on him,” she said.
Gray’s family has been present at all 10 days of the inquest so far and has described him as a beloved and likeable man, whose death was a loss to the world. They have called for updated police training and practices when it comes to mental health and de-escalation of violence.
The inquest jury can’t make findings of legal responsibility, but it can make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.
The B.C.’s Independent Investigations Office’s years-long investigation into Gray’s death ultimately found reasonable grounds to believe police may have committed an offence, and submitted a report to the BC Prosecution Service for consideration of charges.
However, the service announced in late 2020 it would not pursue charges against the officers involved, citing a lack of evidence a crime was committed, and no witnesses beyond the officers involved in the struggle.
A discipline proceeding is ongoing in connection to Gray’s death though, which could result in the dismissal of the seven Vancouver police officers who remain on active duty. There is no timeline for when a decision must be made.
— with files from Global News’ Elizabeth McSheffrey