‘It looks absolutely awful’: Ethics expert on VPD during Myles Gray inquest

An ethics expert is blasting the Vancouver Police Department as the inquest into the death of a man while being forcibly restrained nearly eight years ago enters its final day.

On Thursday, the family of Myles Gray heard from the forensic pathologist who testified the 33-year-old died from a combination of extreme stress on his heart and lungs while being forcefully held on the ground during an arrest in August 2015.

The pathologist who performed the autopsy on Gray told the coroners inquest that a “perfect storm” of factors caused his death by “cardio-pulmonary arrest,” complicated by the actions of police officers who caused blunt-force injuries, compressed his neck, pepper-sprayed him, and handcuffed him behind his back while forcing him onto his stomach, all while his heart and lungs were under stress.

Meanwhile, an ethics expert says the testimony about the actions and inaction of police officers in the death of Gray and the investigation afterward look very bad for the VPD.

“It looks absolutely awful. It seems to me the Vancouver Police Department and its top leadership have failed miserably to establish that they are accountable and responsible when things go desperately wrong,” says Arthur Schafer, founding director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba.

“This shocking case has dragged on for seven years, the people involved have been allowed to continue in their jobs, despite evidence that they may have committed criminal offences and certainly severe disciplinary offences are an issue. No one has been held to account, no one has been disciplined, the family has been given no answers.”

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Schafer points out Gray — who was unarmed — was beaten by officers who failed to take notes after his death.

“They were advised not to take notes that could be used against them by other officers associated with the police union. Just about everything that could be ethically shabby in a police investigation occurred here. We’ve had no answers because many refused to answer questions. I would have thought that would be occasion for an immediate suspension, if not firing,” Schafer tells CityNews.

“No one was criminally charged, although criminal charges were recommended by the prosecution service, and no has been forced to answer questions truthfully, under oath. If I were a citizen of Vancouver I’d be desperately concerned about what appears to be the excessive use of force and violence and this complete failure of accountability both internally and externally.”

Schafer believes this raises questions about the moral and professional leadership within the Vancouver Police Department.

“One thing that is clear in British Columbia and across the country is that the police are doing a desperately poor job when it comes to dealing with people who may have may be experiencing some sort of mental crisis or breakdown and are behaving irrationally,” he says.

“They come in with guns blazing or boots kicking or baton clubs smashing instead of giving some distance, ensuring that they and the public are safe while allowing a certain adversarial calm to prevail. Maybe the police could be properly trained with such situations. Failing that, they should be trained to isolate the situation and bring in people who are competent to deal with it.”

Schafer argues that while Gray may have been extremely agitated, causing his death was surely not the appropriate response.

“Let’s remember what he was accused of doing… he’s accused of turning a garden hose on a woman.”

The officers who have testified during the inquest have all suggested Gray had used “threatening” behaviour in the struggle to restrain him.

The Sechelt man had been in Vancouver, making a business delivery.

Police were initially called for reports of an agitated man spraying a woman with a hose.

Friday is the final day of the coroner’s inquest, which can’t lay any legal responsibility for Gray’s death but can make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.