Myles Gray's mother recalls learning of son's death as hearing into Vancouver police conduct begins

The mother of Myles Gray, a 33-year-old man who died after being beaten by members of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), testified at a public hearing into the officers conduct Monday.

Margie Gray said at first, after learning her son had died, she was in shock.

But moments later: “I dropped on the ground and started screaming and screaming and screaming,” she said.

On the first day of the hearing into their actions, all seven VPD officers denied the allegations that they intentionally or recklessly used unnecessary force in Gray's death.

Gray was beaten by police Aug. 13, 2015, in a wooded backyard in Burnaby and died at the scene. He was initially reported to police for spraying someone with a garden hose. His injuries included ruptured testicles, a broken voice box, a fractured eye socket and widespread bruising.

The hearing, one of the largest of its kind, probes whether VPD Constables Kory Folkestad, Eric Birzneck, Derek Cain, Josh Wong, Beau Spencer, Hardeep Sahota and Nick Thompson abused their authority.

On Monday, Margie Gray described her son as a man interested in mountain biking, weightlifting, fishing and hockey.

She said he regularly made deliveries for his wholesale floral evergreen company.

But that day in August 2015, she got a call from one of her son’s employees asking where he was, as his van was still at a florist supply shop in south Burnaby on Marine Way.

She went to the shop and found her son’s van left behind.

In an eight-minute 911 call, Margie Gray told the dispatcher her son was missing and had left his wallet, keys and backpack in the van, along with the rest of the day’s deliveries, worth thousands of dollars — undelivered. She told the dispatcher that this was unusual and that the supply shop employee said Gray had wandered off.

In the call, she said he had “snapped” in the past and had been diagnosed as bipolar.

After the call, in time, many police officers arrived at the floral warehouse, she explained.

One approached her husband.