Media writes, “Beating”.

We know it is rhetorical to ask how to get the media to stop the histrionics n print reality but it can be cathartic to vent.😫

Jury calls for police body cameras

by BRENNA OWEN

Vancouver Sun

May 03, 2023

"Rec­om­men­da­tions made at coro­ner's in­quest into man's death at VPD hands

The jury in the B.C. coroner's inquest into the death of Myles Gray after a beating by Vancouver police nearly eight years ago is recommending the department expedite its use of body-worn cameras for all patrol officers.

The five-member jury made just three recommendations in its verdict on Monday, but the suggestion for body cameras equipped with audio-recording capabilities was at the top of their list.

Gray, who was 33, died in August 2015 after the beating that left him with injuries including ruptured testicles and fractures in his eye socket, nose, voice box and rib.

The jury forewoman said the verdict was not unanimous, with four of the five members agreeing. Ian Donaldson, a lawyer for Gray's family, told the media the homicide finding is significant because the police position had always been that Gray died of natural causes.

Several officers told the inquest they believed Gray had been experiencing “excited delirium,” characterizing it as a life-threatening medical emergency.

“From my perspective, the jury's verdict puts an end to that. We know what the cause of death was,” Donaldson said. “We heard it from the forensic pathologist and the jury endorsed and accepted that.”

Dr. Matthew Orde, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, told the inquest Gray died of a cardiac arrest complicated by his extreme physical exertion and by police actions, pointing specifically to “neck compression,” blunt force injuries, the use of pepper spray, forcing Gray onto his stomach and handcuffing him behind his back.

The jury's second recommendation for Vancouver police is to review and enhance the crisis de-escalation and containment training officers receive.

In particular, the jury suggested adding more frequent in-person and online training focused on how to make continuing health and safety assessments and reduce risk to someone experiencing a mental health disturbance.

Before the jury returned with its verdict on Monday, the inquest heard from Shelley Horne, the Vancouver police superintendent overseeing personnel services, who said she expects there will be a pilot project by this fall to equip 80 to 100 officers with body cameras for up to nine months before the results are evaluated.

[Isn't the evidence in that body cameras benefit officers?}

The third recommendation was aimed at the Provincial Health Services Authority, suggesting the CEO review its policies on keeping toxicology samples from people whose deaths are under investigation. The inquest heard Gray's samples were destroyed six months after his death, but they could have been used to provide greater detail about any substances that may have been in his blood."

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https://www.jonathanmccormick.com/forum/law-enforcement-officers/vancouver-police-officers-testify-in-inquest-to-suspect-s-death