The lawyer for a Vancouver police officer involved in the violent arrest that led to the death of Myles Gray in 2015 will testify about being quickly “met with aggression” by Gray and using force only when he believed an assault was imminent.
Lawyer Mike Shirreff, representing Const. Eric Birzneck, says it was Gray who drove the outcome of the altercation.
The hearing into the actions of seven officers is being conducted by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, which is examining if they intentionally or recklessly used unnecessary force in the fatal altercation.
It’s hearing from some of the officers for the first time, including Birzneck, who began his testimony on Tuesday by talking about his career, after an introduction by Shirreff.
At least three of the six other officers involved in Gray’s deadly arrest are scheduled to testify in the hearings: constables Beau Spencer, Nick Thompson and Josh Wong.
A police disciplinary process previously determined none of the seven officers committed misconduct, and 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.
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. 13, 2026.
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