Officer says Myles Gray was strongest man in 15-year career
Const. Beau Spencer testified at a public hearing into the fatal 2015 arrest.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Myles Gray is pictured in an undated photo. He died after a violent confrontation with police officers in a Burnaby, B.C., backyard on Aug. 13, 2015. (Justice for Myles Gray/Facebook)
Photograph: CBC News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Const. Beau Spencer testified that Myles Gray was the strongest man he encountered in his 15-year policing career.
- Gray died following a confrontation with Vancouver police on August 13, 2015, in Burnaby.
- No charges have been laid over Gray's death, which a 2023 coroner's inquest ruled a homicide.
- Seven Vancouver officers are facing a public hearing into whether they committed misconduct during the arrest.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
78/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
15/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Const. Beau Spencer told a public hearing that Myles Gray was the strongest man he had encountered in 15 years of policing. Spencer was involved in the August 13, 2015, arrest of Gray in Burnaby, near the Vancouver boundary. The confrontation ended with Gray's death.
Spencer described an initial call for assistance from a colleague as "unnerving" and an "animalistic roar" he heard as he approached the scene as unlike anything he had heard on a police radio. Upon arrival, he found other officers appeared "exhausted" as they struggled to restrain Gray. Spencer testified that he felt physically unable to restrain Gray and delivered three or four "closed-fist strikes" to Gray's shoulder while attempting to apply handcuffs. He stated that Gray's arm "was not moving at all" despite his and another officer's efforts. Spencer described Gray as exhibiting a "crazy change of behaviour" after passing out, looking at him and asking "what's going on," before entering another "rage" and throwing the officer. When Gray fell unconscious a second time, Spencer said he went "from pure strength, pure power, to no flex in his muscles," and then went limp. Spencer stepped back from the scene, believing he could not assist medically. Paramedics and firefighters were attending the scene when Gray died.
Disagreement on Gray's injuries
Reports differ on the extent of injuries Gray sustained. The CBC News full report stated that an earlier inquest heard Gray was left with injuries including a fractured eye socket, crushed voice box and ruptured testicles, and that a paramedic thought Gray was not white due to severe bruising. The Medicine Hat News full report included the same details about Gray's injuries and the paramedic's observation.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated digests mention the specific injuries Gray sustained, such as a fractured eye socket, crushed voice box, and ruptured testicles, or the paramedic's observation about his bruising. The right-rated digest does not mention the 2023 coroner's inquest ruling that Gray's death was a homicide, nor does it detail the specific injuries Gray sustained or the paramedic's observation about his bruising.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 16 Oct 2026, 21:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports led with Const. Beau Spencer's testimony that Myles Gray was the strongest man he had encountered in 15 years of policing. These reports included details of the confrontation, such as Spencer's use of force, Gray's "animalistic roar," and his "rage." They also mentioned that Gray was left with injuries including a fractured eye socket, crushed voice box, and ruptured testicles, and that a paramedic initially thought Gray was not white due to severe bruising. The reports noted that no charges have been laid over Gray's death, which a 2023 coroner's inquest ruled a homicide. The outlets also highlighted that seven Vancouver officers are facing a public hearing into whether they committed misconduct during the arrest.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report led with Const. Beau Spencer's statement that Myles Gray was the strongest man he had encountered in 15 years of policing. It included details of the confrontation, such as Spencer's use of force and Gray's "animalistic roar." The report mentioned that Gray was left with injuries including a fractured eye socket, crushed voice box, and ruptured testicles, and that a paramedic initially thought Gray was not white due to severe bruising. It stated that no charges have been laid over Gray's death, which a 2023 coroner's inquest ruled a homicide. The report also noted that seven Vancouver officers are facing a public hearing into whether they committed misconduct during the arrest.
Right
1 rated outlet
- The right-rated digest led with Const. Beau Spencer's statement that Myles Gray was the strongest man he had encountered in 15 years of policing. It mentioned that Gray died following a confrontation with Vancouver police in 2015.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Officer says Myles Gray was strongest man in 15-year career?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 16% are rated centre, 17% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Officer says Myles Gray was strongest man in 15-year career left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Officer says Myles Gray was strongest man in 15-year career biased?
- Officer says Myles Gray was strongest man in 15-year career is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Officer says Myles Gray was strongest man in 15-year career?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Officer says Myles Gray was strongest man in 15-year career?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Who was Myles Gray and how did he die?
- Myles Gray died following a confrontation with Vancouver police officers on August 13, 2015, in Burnaby. A 2023 coroner's inquest ruled his death a homicide. No charges have been laid in connection with his death.
- What did Const. Beau Spencer testify about the arrest?
- Const. Beau Spencer testified that Myles Gray was the strongest man he had encountered in his 15-year policing career. He described using force to try and restrain Gray and noted Gray's significant physical resistance during the arrest.
- What injuries did Myles Gray sustain?
- According to reports, an earlier inquest heard that Gray sustained injuries including a fractured eye socket, a crushed voice box, and ruptured testicles. A paramedic noted that Gray's bruising was so severe he initially thought Gray was not a white man.
- Are any officers facing consequences for Gray's death?
- Seven Vancouver police officers are facing a public hearing initiated by B.C.'s Police Complaint Commissioner. The hearing will determine whether they committed misconduct during the confrontation that led to Myles Gray's death.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Myles Gray was 'strongest man I've dealt with' in career, Vancouver officer tells hearing (opens CBC News in a new tab)
- Vancouver officer tells hearing Myles Gray was strongest man encountered in career (opens The Lethbridge Herald in a new tab)
The Lethbridge Herald — is The Lethbridge Herald biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Vancouver officer tells hearing Myles Gray was strongest man encountered in career (opens SooToday.com in a new tab)
SooToday.com — is SooToday.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Security Check (opens The Toronto Star in a new tab)
The Toronto Star — is The Toronto Star biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
1Right
1Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

