VPD officer's testimony dropped from schedule of Myles Gray death hearing

A person holds a sign with a photo of Myles Gray, who died following a confrontation with several police officers in 2015, before the start of a coroner's inquest into his death, in Burnaby, B.C., on April 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — A public hearing in Vancouver into the police-involved death of Myles Gray in 2015 is set to resume after a six-week adjournment.

But the first testimony from one of the Vancouver officers under investigation for the violent confrontation has been dropped from the hearing schedule, and it’s now unclear if any of the seven constables will speak.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner that is conducting the hearing says “unanticipated scheduling issues” have delayed the start of proceedings for several hours, until 2 p.m. today.

Instead of receiving witness testimony, the hearing today will try to resolve the scheduling matters, before continuing for the rest of the week and another seven days next month.

Const. Eric Birzneck had been on this week’s witness list until a new schedule was sent out on Tuesday, which says time will be set aside as needed for “evidence from respondent members who choose to testify,” but without specifying which of them might speak or when.

Gray died during a takedown in the backyard of a home that left him with injuries including a fractured eye socket, a crushed voice box and ruptured testicles.

His death was ruled a homicide by coroner’s inquest in 2023, but a police disciplinary process determined the seven officers did not commit misconduct, and no charges have been laid in Gray’s death.

The public hearing that began in January and was requested by Gray’s family is expected to hear opening statements from the lawyers for all of the officers, but these have also yet to be scheduled.

The other six constables under scrutiny for their actions before Gray’s death on Aug. 13, 2015, are Kory Folkestad, Derek Cain, Josh Wong, Beau Spencer, Hardeep Sahota and Nick Thompson.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2026.