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.