Vancouver Police officers won’t be charged in 2015 arrest, eventual death of man

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The BC Prosecution Service says charges will not be going ahead in the death of Myles Gray, who was arrested by Vancouver Police on Aug. 13, 2015.

Police had been trying to take him into custody while at a home on Joffre Avenue near Marine Drive in Burnaby, after getting word of a man causing a disturbance.

Eventually, a violent altercation broke out. During the arrest, Gray suffered extensive injuries.

“While he was being restrained by the VPD officers, he went into cardiac arrest and died. The forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy could not determine the specific cause of death,” a release from the BC Prosecution Service reads.

MORE from the BC Prosecution Service: “While he was being restrained by the VPD officers he went into cardiac arrest and died. The forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy could not determine the specific cause of death.”

— Ria ‘Hall-y Jolly’ Renouf (@riarenouf) December 16, 2020

Since the arrest, Gray’s friends and family have been rallying to get the case to the courts. The exact number of officers involved in the arrest has never been shared publicly by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) – which previously forwarded a report to Crown counsel for consideration of charges. However, the friends and family behind a GoFundMe campaign say they were told he was in an altercation with six police officers.

“Myles was a young businessman, in Vancouver to deliver his product. We do not know exactly what happened. We have not been told what occurred … Myles was a kind, caring, positive young person. He had many friends and a loving family. He was looking forward to a vacation and a busy Christmas season. If this can happen to Myles and our family, it can happen to yours,” the GoFundMe page reads.

The BC Prosecution Service also says the only witnesses to the altercation and restraint of Gray were the attending members of the VPD.

“Based on the evidence available, the BCPS is not able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officers committed any offence in relation to the incident,” the service writes.

IIO Chief Civilian Director Ron MacDonald previously told NEWS 1130 the reason for the three-and-a-half year delay into its report being forwarded to Crown counsel was because the case was complex.

“There was a good deal of forensic evidence that needed to be obtained. We would have preferred to complete it more quickly, for sure,” he said.