As the inquest into the 2015 death of Myles Gray began at the Burnaby Coroners Court, MLA Nicholas Simons was in the courtroom.
Simons, the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Powell River-Sunshine Coast, told Coast Reporter he has been in touch with Margie Gray, Myles’s mother, regularly over the years and plans to attend five of the 10 days scheduled for the inquest to support the Gray family.
Gray was a 33-year-old Sechelt businessman who died after a confrontation with multiple police officers in August 2015. Despite extensive injuries, a cause of death has not been concluded.
“I’m interested in ensuring that family gets support that they can feel from residents of the Sunshine Coast,” Simons said. It’s difficult, he added, for family members to hear the details of the event.
He acknowledged how long it has taken for the IIO to complete their report, “the resistance they faced from some parties” and the BC Prosecutor’s decision not to pursue charges.
Simons hopes to learn “about the challenges and the issues and ensure that our system promotes transparency and accountability, and ultimately promotes the administration of justice… A lot of questions haven't been answered yet, and this process may help the family and help Myles’s friends and family get answers that they've had questions about for a long time.”
A separate process by the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC) is ongoing, he added. On April 18, Andrea Spindler, the Deputy Police Complaint Commissioner, confirmed the OPCC’s disciplinary proceeding is ongoing.
“There are no specific timelines in which the Discipline Authority must make their decision once a discipline proceeding begins,” she wrote in an email. “Discipline proceedings can be lengthy depending on the complexity of the matter, availability of counsel, requests for further investigation, the calling of witnesses, or other procedural rights afforded to the members at this stage. At this stage of the process, the OPCC is in a monitoring role and has limited direct involvement over the process until it is concluded.
“Once the discipline proceeding before Chief Jones is concluded further proceedings may or may not occur. The Commissioner may, after consultation with the Associate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, appoint a retired judge to adjudicate and decide the matter. For example, police officers who are ordered dismissed or reduced in rank after a discipline proceeding have an automatic right to a public hearing before a retired judge.”
Simons said he will attend the first four days of the inquest in person, and hopes to attend the last day, April 28, as well. He said he’s glad a livestream of the inquest is available as “It’s an opportunity for some light to be shed on what has been fairly inaccessible information for the most part.”
Of the first few days of the inquest, Simons said they’re still “setting the stage” and determining the chronology of the events. “And what’s clear so far, is that Myles was in need of help.”
