Firefighters say VPD officers told them not to check Myles Gray's condition in last moments: report

The firefighters first on the scene after the violent confrontation that killed Myles Gray say Vancouver police officers did not want them to assess the injured man's condition because he wasn't under control, but two suggest Gray had already stopped moving by that point, according to an investigation report.

The Burnaby firefighters who gave statements for a police misconduct investigation gave conflicting evidence about Gray's state when they first saw him on Aug. 13, 2015, RCMP Sgt. Robert Nash's 278-page final report says.

Two of four unnamed firefighters quoted in the report remembered that Gray was still resisting arrest when they arrived and were told not to approach him. But the other two described Gray lying motionless for at least a minute before police flipped him over and realized he wasn't breathing.

Gray's mother, Margie, said she was enraged when she received Nash's report and saw the latter two accounts.

"When I read that … I have no words to describe how infuriated I was at the VPD," Margie Gray said.

"I didn't think this story could have gotten any worse, and at that moment, I was just like, oh it just f--king did."

Nash acknowledged the contradictory statements in his report, writing, "It is difficult to determine whose account is more accurate in depicting what actually took place."

He noted that the police officers on the scene maintain they removed Myles Gray's handcuffs, checked his vitals and tried to revive him as soon as he stopped moving.

The Vancouver Police Department has not responded to requests for comment.

Nash's final report is the result of an order from the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner for an investigation into whether any of the officers present for Gray's death violated the Police Act.

The disciplinary authority in the case is Metro Vancouver Transit Police Chief David Jones, who has found that seven VPD constables may have abused their authority by using unnecessary force on Gray. Six of those officers are also facing neglect of duty allegations for failing to take any notes about what happened.

A discipline hearing has been scheduled for this month. It will not be public, but Jones has recommended penalties up to and including dismissal from the force if the allegations are proven.

'The skin around his mouth and face was blue'

Nash's Feb. 24, 2022 report says all four firefighters reported seeing several officers holding Gray down with his arms handcuffed and his legs hobbled.

One firefighter said "he was told by an officer that they did not want firefighters assessing Gray due to the fact that they did not have Gray under control at that time," the report says.

"He did not notice Gray moving or struggling and this went on for what felt like a few minutes. Police eventually rolled Gray over and he wasn't breathing."

A second firefighter also recalled that Gray wasn't moving, and said it would take another one to three minutes before the officers tried to revive the bound man, who was already blue in the ears and neck.

However, the other two firefighters described Gray struggling and trying to get off the ground.

One firefighter's statement suggested, "after approximately two or three minutes of resisting Gray stopped moving. Gray was turned on to his back and he [the firefighter] noticed that Gray wasn't breathing and the skin around his mouth and face was blue."

Gray was pronounced dead at the scene. Despite an extensive list of injuries — including a fractured voice box, several broken bones and ruptured testicles — forensic experts have never been able to pinpoint a cause of death. 

Police had been called to South Vancouver after Gray, an unarmed 33-year-old business owner from the Sunshine Coast, confronted a homeowner for watering her lawn during a drought, and sprayed her with her hose.

Claims of 'superhuman strength'

Nash's report summarizes statements from all the police officers on the scene that day, confirming that they punched, kicked, kneed and pepper sprayed Gray, as well as struck him with a baton and placed him in a chokehold.

The officers described Gray as aggressive, violent and unusually strong, and some said they feared for their lives, according to Nash's report. 

One constable claimed he was knocked unconscious when Gray punched him in the jaw. The same officer said he punched Gray in the head as many times as he could in an attempt to stun him, the report says.

Some officers described Gray as having "superhuman strength" or acting like "the hulk."

One of the Burnaby firefighters said an officer told him Gray was "the devil," the report says. The firefighter said another constable told him he hit Gray with his baton and "watched his arm break, and [Gray] didn't even flinch."

Gray's mother has trouble believing those characterizations of her son.

"How can nine police, who were fully weaponed-up, wearing protective gear, say he was the one with superhuman strength?" Margie Gray said.

"The reality is he was a five-foot-nine man. When you're fighting for your life and fighting to survive, yeah, you get a surge of adrenaline."

A coroner's inquest into Gray's death is scheduled to begin later this month.

The Independent Investigations Office, which investigates police-related cases that result in serious harm or death, also investigated Gray's death and forwarded a report to Crown in the belief the officers may have committed a crime.

But in December 2020, the B.C. Prosecution Service announced that none of the officers would be criminally charged, in part because of the lack of witnesses and uncertainty surrounding the cause of death.