Firefighters, paramedics contradict police testimony at Myles Gray inquest

After several days of testimony from police officers, the coroner's inquest into the death of Myles Gray shifted gears Tuesday as firefighters and paramedics took the stand and described their efforts to save the man's life.

Each of the seven witnesses referred frequently to their previous notes and statements as lawyers pressed them for details about what happened on August 13, 2015.

Several people phoned 911 that day to report a threatening man acting erratically in southeast Vancouver near the border with Burnaby.

When the first Vancouver police officer dispatched that day found Gray, he had wandered across Boundary Road into Burnaby.

Const. Hardeep Sahota called for backup almost immediately and within minutes Gray was in a residential yard fighting with three officers.

By the time it was over, seven officers had taken part in the violent altercation that left Gray dead.

Firefighters were initially called because police had used pepper spray and some officers were in need of treatment for that and other injuries sustained in the melee.

The inquest has heard Gray punched an officer and briefly knocked him unconscious.

A fellow police officer accidentally hit Sahota in the arm with an extendable baton.

Firefighters quickly realized Gray was also in need of medical attention.

Several of them told the inquest that the 33-year-old man had been badly beaten and his face was bloody and bruised.

They said both of Gray's eyes were black and swollen nearly shut.

Police officers testifying earlier in the inquest repeatedly said they did not notice any serious injuries to Gray's face.

"Not one of them saw his face, which is highly unusual," said Margie Gray, Myles' mother. "There were so many officers there, yet nobody saw his face."

Burnaby firefighter Young Lee testified that when he and a colleague entered the Joffre Avenue yard where the altercation took place, they saw Gray face down in the grass with his hands cuffed behind his back and his feet bound.

Lee said there were several officers pinning Gray to the ground even though he was restrained by the handcuffs and leg hobble.

“The patient was obviously in duress. He was trying to roll left or right," Lee said. "He was seething through his teeth. He was grunting and looked like he was fighting just to get these guys off of him.”

He said he wanted to properly assess Gray's injuries but was told he could not as long as Gray was not co-operating.

"The response from one of the officers was, 'fire will not be assessing the patient at present time because he is still combative," Lee said.

In the coroner's inquest, members of the five-person jury can ask questions of witnesses.

"At any time were you concerned that Mr. Gray could not breathe as a result of a police officer holding his head down?" juror number five asked Lee.

"Yes," Lee responded.

Police continued to hold Gray down for several minutes until he went motionless and they realized he had stopped breathing.

"My son was not combative. He was fighting for his life to get a gulp of air," Margie Gray said outside the inquest. "He was being denied oxygen."

The inquest heard police uncuffed Gray and began CPR before firefighters and paramedics could take over.

One of those paramedics, Jeff Hutchinson, testified that at some point an Advanced Life Support ambulance arrived on scene staffed by specialized paramedics with more training than he had.

He said one of the ALS paramedics tried to get information from police about what tactics and weapons had been used on Gray because that information would assist those treating him.

According to Hutchinson, police were reluctant to discuss what had transpired as they beat Gray.

Hutchinson said the ALS paramedic had to ask several times before an officer volunteered that pepperspray and batons had been used on Gray but no taser.

Hutchinson described the moment by saying the officers went quiet -- and were "protective" of the information.

"Somebody just died. They are involved," he said. "They aren't going to say anything unless they have to. It took ALS two or three times for somebody to voice up what had happened."

Stephen Shipman, the ALS paramedic, took the stand next and said he couldn't remember how many times he asked police about weapons and tactics before he got an appropriate response, saying it could have been one time or four times.

Numerous police officers have already testified they repeatedly struck Gray with a variety of kicks, punches, knee and baton strikes.

Asked about what injuries he noticed on Gray, Shipman said the man had been badly beaten.

“I didn’t think he was a white guy. The first couple of looks, wow, this guy has dark skin," Shipman said. "It wasn’t dark skin, it was the bruising.”

Firefighters and paramedics testified they unsuccessfully performed CPR for 45 minutes before Gray was pronounced dead.

Margie Gray has attended the inquest every single day since it began last Monday.

"Today was probably the worst day," she said through tears. "But it was nice to know there were people there that wanted to save his life."