A long-awaited public hearing into the conduct of seven Vancouver Police Department officers involved in the 2015 death of Myles Gray commenced on Monday, January 19, 2026. The proceedings, expected to last ten weeks, are being held at UBC Robson Square in downtown Vancouver and are presided over by retired B.C. Supreme Court judge Elizabeth Arnold-Bailey.
A Mother's Testimony and a Decade-Long Quest for Answers
The first day of the hearing is set to feature testimony from Gray's mother, Margaret Gray, alongside three civilian witnesses who observed Gray prior to police intervention. This hearing represents a pivotal moment for Gray's family, who have sought clarity and accountability for nearly a decade following the tragic incident on August 13, 2015.
Myles Gray, 33, died after a six-minute physical interaction with Vancouver police officers who were attempting to restrain him. The officers had been dispatched in response to a 911 call reporting a man acting erratically and spraying a woman with a garden hose. During the restraint, Gray sustained multiple severe injuries, including a brain hemorrhage, fractures to his right eye socket, rib, and nose, and bleeding in his testes. He lost consciousness while handcuffed and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A History of Investigations and Conflicting Findings
The circumstances surrounding Gray's death have been examined through multiple channels, yielding complex and sometimes contradictory outcomes. In 2023, a police disciplinary hearing addressed allegations that the officers "intentionally or recklessly used unnecessary force" and that six of the seven failed to properly document the event with notes.
Subsequently, in October 2024, a report authored by Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord cleared the officers of wrongdoing. However, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) highlighted significant caveats in Dubord's report, noting he described the process as "lopsided" and acknowledged limited evidence, discrepancies in officer statements, and a lack of cross-examination for the five officers who testified.
An earlier coroner's inquest ruled Gray's death a homicide, a term the coroner clarified as neutral, indicating the death resulted from the actions of another person but not assigning legal fault or blame.
The Path to a Public Hearing
Following the disciplinary hearing report, Gray's family formally requested a public hearing from the OPCC. Police Complaint Commissioner Prabhu Rajan determined that such a hearing was not only necessary but also in the public interest, stating he would have called for one independently of the family's request.
In his decision, Rajan recognized the protracted nature of the investigations and the profound toll it has taken on all parties involved, including Gray's family and the officers and their families. "I carefully considered whether it might be better to bring closure by allowing the (disciplinary hearing decision) to be the last word on this matter," Rajan stated. "However, questions remain unasked and unanswered."
The hearing, scheduled to run until March 26, 2026, aims to provide a transparent forum to examine these unresolved questions, offering a potential path toward resolution for a case that has raised enduring concerns about police conduct and accountability in British Columbia.
