The public hearing into the death of Myles Gray in Vancouver heard this week from Const. Spencer, one of the officers involved in the arrest, who described Gray suddenly regaining awareness for a few seconds before going into what he called a rage again.
Spencer said Gray threw him onto his back and manhandled him despite the officer's larger stature. When Gray fell unconscious a second time, Spencer testified, he went from pure strength and power to no flex in his muscles and going limp. Gray died at the scene, by then attended by paramedics and firefighters, and Spencer told Gray's family the tragic death was not intended.
The hearing, run by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, started in January but has faced repeated delays. Const. Eric Birzneck, the first of the officers to testify earlier this week, likened Gray's strength to the Hulk and said he appeared impervious to pain as police tried to subdue him.
Spencer also testified that officers were told by union representatives at Vancouver police headquarters not to write anything down until told to do so, that he later learned he was under investigation by B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office, and that he wrote his statement on a personal laptop before it was entered into the police data system. Adjudicator Elizabeth Arnold-Bailey has adjourned the hearing until November 16.
