Officer says Myles Gray was restrained face-down for several minutes before death

VANCOUVER — A Vancouver police officer testifying at a public hearing into the 2015 police-involved death of Myles Gray said Monday that Gray was handcuffed and hobbled, and struggled while being restrained face down by officers for several minutes before his body went limp.

The testimony by Const. John Gravengard is in contrast to that of another officer who told the hearing last week that Gray was in the recovery position then put himself face down for about 10 seconds before he stopped breathing.

Gravengard said he arrived at the scene to find three other officers trying to restrain Gray, and he assisted by putting his knees on Gray’s legs as the other officers held his arms and the hobble restraining his feet.

He said Gray struggled for about six or seven minutes in that position, thrusting his hips and doing “hamstring curls” while spitting and yelling before going limp. He said at one point, Gray was able to buck Gravengard off.

“I did lose my balance and fell off and had to reposition,” he told the hearing.

Gravengard said he does not recall any officer suggesting they put Gray in a recovery position until that point.

The inquiry by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, is looking into the actions of seven Vancouver police officers involved in the violent encounter, who were all cleared of misconduct in 2024 by a police discipline authority.

Gravengard is not among the officers under investigation.

His account differs with testimony of Const. Chris Bowater, who told the hearing last week that Gray had been in a recovery position when he made a “fast twist” and “put himself face down into the grass” for “approximately 10 seconds” before he was rolled back over and appeared to stop breathing.

Bowater, a former paramedic who also is not under investigation, testified that Gray was then uncuffed and rolled onto his back so he could begin chest compressions.

A coroner’s inquest in 2023 heard that Gray was left with injuries including a fractured eye socket, a crushed voice box and ruptured testicles.

The coroner’s jury ruled the death was a homicide. Coroner’s inquests do not find criminal fault and a finding of homicide means death due to injury intentionally inflicted by another person.

Police had originally been called to a complaint of a man who sprayed a woman with water from a garden hose.

Police told the coroner’s inquest that Gray exhibited “superhuman strength” and was behaving in an “animalistic” way, and he didn’t appear to feel pain as they hit him and wrestled him to the ground.

Gravengard made similar statements to the Independent Investigations Office after the 2015 death, which were read out to the hearing on Monday. His statement at the time said that Gray appeared to have “superhuman strength.”

“That’s what we learn as an individual who is on cocaine, psychosis, or excited delirium is that they are — they have the potential to be stronger than they really are,” he said in the statement, which was read out to the hearing on Monday.

Gravengard also told the hearing Monday that he was not aware Gray had been previously unconscious when he arrived at the scene.

Later Monday, a second officer testified that she too saw Gray lying on his stomach with his hands double handcuffed behind his back.

Const. Tiffany Tan told the hearing that she was “very new” to the force and had attended the scene alongside Bowater, who was acting as her field trainer at the time.

Tan said Monday that she went up several minutes after Bowater and saw Gray lying on his stomach “with his legs extended and controlled by the hobble” while his hands were double handcuffed behind his back.

She said “several minutes” later someone noticed Gray was no longer breathing. She said she stayed on scene for about 30 minutes while Bowater and others did CPR on Gray and until a paramedic “called time of death.”

The hearing is also considering whether the officers committed neglect of duty by failing to make and preserve contemporaneous notes or to provide their reports or statements in a timely way.

Tom Stamatakis, who was president of the Vancouver Police Union in 2015, testified Monday, that he had attended both the scene where Gray died and VPD headquarters where the officers involved had been brought after the death.

Stamatakis said he did not give any officer advice or direction not to take police notes. He also testified he did not overhear or become aware of anyone else from the union giving that advice or suggesting officers not take notes.

“And had I been aware, I would have intervened and told them that was bad advice,” he testified Monday.

Two Vancouver officer told the earlier inquest that they were told not to make handwritten notes about a confrontation that resulted in Gray’s death.

Stamatakis told the hearing that there are reasons an officer may not complete notes right away, such as if they are injured, but added that it is advantageous when possible to take timely notes that officers can refer to weeks or even years later to refresh their memory.

He did note that in 2015, the issue of notetaking as well as the relationship between the IIO and police officers were contentious. He said Monday there were a lot of examples of the IIO obtaining notes for one purpose and then using them for another without the member’s “consent or knowledge.”

But Stamatakis said he “wouldn’t spend a lot of time on issues around notes and reports.”

“The authority for the investigation lies with the IIO. It’s their responsibility to manage the investigation, whether it’s around issues related to notes or other reports, or it’s the VPD’s responsibility,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 2, 2026.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press