Vancouver Police Department chief gives condolences to Myles Gray’s family

The head of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is giving condolences to the family of Myles Gray, nearly eight years after the man’s death.

The 33-year-old Gray died shortly after being badly beaten by Vancouver police officers during an arrest attempt in August 2015. A coroner’s inquest earlier this week classified the death as a homicide and made several recommendations aimed at the police department’s procedures.

Chief Const. Adam Palmer says Gray’s death has had “a profound and lasting impact on everyone involved.”

Statement from Chief Constable Adam Palmer on Coroner’s Inquest verdict pic.twitter.com/lU688Fp5Le

— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) May 2, 2023

“We extend our deepest condolences to Myles Gray’s family members and friends who loved him dearly,” Palmer wrote in a statement.

“We recognize that nothing can change the events that transpired the day Myles died, and no words can take away the pain and sorrow from his family,” he said. “We hope the coroner’s inquest has given them the answers they have sought since he died nearly eight years ago.”

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Palmer’s statement goes on to thank everyone involved in the inquest, especially those who “waited eight years to share their stories.”

During the inquest, multiple police officers who testified noted that they were directed by union officials to not take notes immediately after the incident.

While the province’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO), recommended criminal charges against the officers involved in 2019, the BC Prosecution Service ruled there was not enough evidence to approve them.

Palmer’s statement does not acknowledge the inquest jury’s ruling that the death was a homicide.

The jury also made three recommendations, including having all VPD patrol members outfitted with body cameras that have audio recording capabilities and to review and enhance the department’s de-escalation and containment training.

Palmer noted that these recommendations build on “processes that are currently in place or are substantially underway.” Fitting police officers with body cameras was part of Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s platform in the 2022 municipal election.

Findings from the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) are also set to be released this month.

Seven officers face individual employment hearings. First reported by Global News, those seven officers are facing disciplinary actions, including suspension and even dismissal after the OPCC found allegations of “abuse of authority and neglect of duty may be substantiated.”

Multiple officers implicated in Gray’s death have since been faced with other misconduct claims under the province’s Police Act. 

Const. Beau Spencer has been charged with assault relating to another policing incident in May 2017, nearly four years after Myles’ death. That trial is set to begin in September. Spencer is the son of retired VPD officer and gang expert Doug Spencer, known for his work with Odd Squad Productions in gang prevention.

Another officer, Const. Derek Cain, was named in a civil lawsuit regarding the death of VPD Const. Nicole Chan in 2019. That suit also names other officers, along with the Vancouver Police Board.

–With files from Dean Recksiedler and Sonia Aslam