Vancouver officer denies giving ‘lopsided’ account of fatal fight with Myles Gray

VANCOUVER — A Vancouver police officer involved in the deadly arrest of Myles Gray in 2015 says he doesn’t agree that he has given a “lopsided” account of the altercation by describing Gray as “the Hulk” or a “charging bull.”

Const. Eric Birzneck is one of seven Vancouver officers facing a public hearing by B.C.’s Police Complaint Commissioner over possible misconduct during the fatal confrontation.

Birzneck denied trying to “hide” the fact that another officer had punched Gray as they attempted to subdue him when commission hearing counsel Brock Martland asked him if he was trying to “protect a fellow officer.”

Martland asked Birzneck about his account of the attempt to arrest Gray, questioning whether his evidence omitted certain facts or minimized things to avoid creating problems for the others involved in the fatal confrontation.

Birzneck disagreed that he tailored his evidence in such a way, and told the hearing that his memories had been jogged over time with “pieces of the puzzle” coming together afterwards.

He is the first among the officers to testify, telling the hearing this week that Gray displayed incredible strength and appeared “impervious to pain” as police tried to subdue him near the boundary between Burnaby and Vancouver on Aug. 13, 2015.

No charges have been laid over Gray’s death, which a 2023 coroner’s inquest ruled was a homicide, a term that does not assign legal blame.

Birzneck also told the hearing on Thursday that he didn’t believe Gray had any lawful right to repel officers’ use of force against him.

Martland asked Birzneck about scenarios where a member of the public may be legally allowed to resist use of force if the “police contact is unlawful.”

Birzneck said he believed Gray was “arrestable” at the time of the encounter.

The seven officers involved in the fatal altercation with Gray are named as respondents in the public hearing, called under the Police Act.

The commissioner’s notice of public hearing says an earlier disciplinary process had dismissed the misconduct allegations, but the discipline authority found the process “strangely lopsided” and had to decide the case despite “discrepancies and inconsistencies in statements made by VPD members.”

The inquest heard that Gray was left with injuries that included a fractured eye socket, a crushed voice box and ruptured testicles, while a paramedic told the inquest that Gray’s bruising was so severe, he initially thought he was not a white man.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press