The jury in the British Columbia coroner’s inquest into the police beating death of Myles Gray has found it was a homicide, though the coroner said the term and doesn’t imply fault or blame. Ian Donaldson, a lawyer for Gray’s family, told media the finding is significant because it disproves what VPD officers had previously claimed about his cause of death. Several officers told the inquest they believed Gray had been experiencing “excited delirium,” characterizing it as a life-threatening medical emergency. A forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Gray’s body told the inquest that Gray died of a cardiac arrest complicated by police actions — pointing specifically to “neck compression,” blunt force injuries, the use of pepper spray, forcing Gray onto his stomach and handcuffing him behind his back.
BC Premier David Eby says he has spoken with Surrey’s mayor about the policing issue between the Metro Vancouver city and the province. The New Democrat government is recommending Surrey proceed with its ongoing transition to a municipal police force, but Mayor Brenda Locke and her council support a move back to the RCMP. Locke has said her council will review the government’s policing recommendation but still plans to move towards the RCMP. Eby says the New Democrat government wants to work together with Surrey to resolve the police service issue “as quickly as possible.’
Mounties in BC say two men are dead after their boat went missing off the west coast of Haida Gwaii. The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria says it sent the Canadian Coast Guard to the area to join the search for the missing men Sunday morning. It says they were found and recovered about six hours later, around 1 p-m. The RCMP confirmed yesterday that the two men had died and the coroner’s office has now taken over the investigation.
The Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford is under lockdown after a stabbing assault that involved four inmates. Abbotsford police say the BC Ambulance Service, with the help of the Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service, treated and then transported the four inmates to hospital on Saturday. The Correctional Service of Canada says a search of the institution was ordered to ensure the safety and security of both staff and inmates at the medium security prison. The institution says visits have been suspended until the search is completed.
BC Highway Patrol says the driver of a commercial vehicle that hit an overpass on Highway 1 could face charges under the Motor Vehicle Act. The collision, which involved equipment loaded on a truck striking the Peardonville Road overpass in Abbotsford yesterday, was captured on video. Highway Patrol says though there were no injuries, a car was struck by some debris from the overpass. It says early indications suggest the vehicle that struck the overpass was over-height, so charges are being considered.