Vancouver police officers charged with assault for off-duty incident
Two officers from the Vancouver Police Department – including one who was involved in the 2015 arrest of Myles Gray – have been charged in connection with an off-duty incident late last year.
Court records show Joshua Wong and Brian Hunt are each facing one count of assault.
Authorities have confirmed few details about the alleged incident, which took place in Vancouver on Dec. 16, 2023.
Const. Tania Visintin told CTV News the department "immediately" notified B.C.'s Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner upon learning of the incident, and that the neighbouring New Westminster Police Department conducted a criminal investigation into the undisclosed allegations against the two officers.
The charges against Wong and Hunt were approved by the B.C. Prosecution Service on Tuesday.
"Neither officer is currently serving an operational role," Visintin said in an email.
2015 Myles Gray arrest
Wong was among several officers who responded to a fateful 911 call on Aug. 13, 2015, which ended with Gray dying in handcuffs.
The 33-year-old civilian, who owned a floral business on the Sunshine Coast, had allegedly confronted a homeowner on Southeast Marine Drive for watering her lawn during a drought.
During his confrontation with police, Gray suffered a variety of injuries including bone fractures and a hemorrhaged testicle.
Prosecutors did not approve charges against any of the officers involved, noting the only witnesses were from the Vancouver Police Department, and that they provided "incomplete and, in several respects, inconsistent accounts" of what happened.
It's unclear what role Wong played in the arrest. He appeared at a coroner's inquest into Gray's death last year, testifying that the Vancouver Police Union had instructed him not to take notes about what happened.
Wong was also one of the officers involved in a May 2017 arrest at the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain Station that left a suspect with several broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
Wong was never charged in connection with the arrest. Two other officers who were charged with assault were ultimately acquitted, with the judge finding their use of force was consistent with their training.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
NDP house leader laments 'agents of chaos' in precarious Parliament
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Here's what the jury didn't hear in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
2 dead after fire rips through historic building in Old Montreal
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.
Scientists looked at images from space to see how fast Antarctica is turning green. Here's what they found
Parts of icy Antarctica are turning green with plant life at an alarming rate as the region is gripped by extreme heat events, according to new research, sparking concerns about the changing landscape on this vast continent.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Jury begins deliberations in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
The jury tasked with determining if Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard sexually assaulted a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago began deliberating Friday after nearly two weeks of testimony that saw the singer and his accuser give starkly different accounts of what happened.