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Vancouver officer says Gray not lawfully entitled to repel police during fatal arrest
Gray not entitled to repel police, officer says
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A Vancouver police officer involved in the deadly arrest of Myles Gray in 2015 says he doesn't believe Gray had any lawful right to repel officers' use of force against him.
Const. Eric Birzneck is testifying at a public hearing into Gray's death called by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner in Vancouver.
Hearing counsel Brock Martland asked Birzneck about scenarios where a member of the public may be legally allowed to resist police use of force if the "police contact is unlawful," but Birzneck says he believed Gray was "arrestable" at the time of the encounter.
Birzneck is one of seven officers involved in the fatal altercation with Gray who are named as respondents in the public hearing, called to determine whether the officers committed misconduct under the Police Act.
He is the first to testify, telling the hearing this week that Gray displayed incredible strength and appeared "impervious to pain" as officers tried to subdue him near the boundary between Burnaby and Vancouver on Aug. 13, 2015.
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 commissioner's notice of public hearing says an earlier disciplinary process had dismissed the misconduct allegations, but the discipline authority found the process "strangely lopsided" and had to decide the case despite "discrepancies and inconsistencies in statements made by VPD members."
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. 15, 2026.
By Darryl Greer | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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TSB: 'Incomplete' risk assessment led to 2022 B.C. plane crash that killed three
'Incomplete' risk assessment led to plane crash
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — TSB (Mandatory Credit)
Investigators say "limited knowledge" of local wind conditions and a possibly incomplete risk assessment likely led to a pilot losing control of his plane in a crash in British Columbia that killed all three people.
The Transportation Safety Board says in its final report that the crash happened on Nov. 23, 2022, when the seaplane was leaving a logging camp in Strachan Bay along B.C.'s central coast.
The plane was headed for Port Hardy in northern Vancouver Island but reached just 30 meters above sea level before it pitched down and crashed into the water, killing the pilot and two passengers.
The investigation found there was a wind shear and "mechanical turbulence" at low altitudes at the time of the takeoff, and the pilot's pre-flight risk assessment may have been incomplete.
The report says investigators could not determine exactly why the pilot lost control.
The investigation also says the aircraft had several modifications for water operations and short-distance takeoffs and landings, and the pilot may not have been aware of the changes to the plane's handling.
"If multiple (modifications) are installed without adequate guidance on how to evaluate and document their cumulative effects on aircraft handling and performance, there is a risk that the aircraft will have unexpected flight characteristics, increasing the possibility for loss of control," the report says.
However, the report places the pilot's lack of proper pre-flight risk assessment — in light of the weather conditions — as among the main contributing causes of the crash.
"Despite encountering moderate-to-severe turbulence and strong wind gusts on the previous flight, the occurrence pilot had limited knowledge of, and familiarity with, the effects of the winds at Strachan Bay. As a result, his assessment of the risks, before his decision to take off, was likely incomplete," the report says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Dozens of drivers went wrong way on Highway 401 since Gordie Howe bridge opened: OPP
Wrong-way driving near Gordie Howe bridge flagged
Ontario Provincial Police are urging drivers to pay closer attention to traffic signs when approaching the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Windsor, Ont., after dozens of cars were seen driving the wrong way on the nearby stretch of Highway 401.
Police say there have been 64 incidents involving wrong-way drivers on the highway since the bridge opened in July.
They say drivers who miss the exit before the bridge should not panic, make a U-turn or reverse down the highway to avoid getting on the new border crossing to the United States.
Police say drivers can head toward the toll booths and staff there will let them out at a gate so they can avoid approaching border customs.
Drivers who don’t want to enter the United States are asked to exit the highway at Ojibway Parkway, or Exit 1.
Police are warning that the consequence of driving the wrong way is "either a $110 ticket or a deadly crash."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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