No alcohol in suspected drunk driver who died after leaving police custody, widow says.
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Colin Gray was arrested and charged on November 29, 2024, with reckless driving. The 63-year-old spent more than five hours in police custody and died after being released. The family said the results showed he had no alcohol in his blood and that the symptoms were related to his type 2 diabetes 1:21
Colin Gray had no alcohol in his blood when he died after being released from police custody due to his alcoholism, his widow Rose Gray said. The family's attorney has formally requested a medical examiner's investigation into Gray's death. They are seeking to publicize the circumstances that led to his death and prevent a repeat of it.
"It's not easy because every day I try to move forward and get back to my routine, but it's not easy," Rose said, fighting back tears. "I don't have my best friend to call anymore. He would call me at least seven times a day to ask how I was doing and I don't have him anymore."
Colin, 63, was returning to Canada via the Ambassador Bridge on the morning of Nov. 11. 29.
The Media officers suspected Colin of driving recklessly and asked him to take a breathalyzer test.
Christian Grey, right, said his father tried to give a breath sample to border agents but was physically unable to do so.
His son Christian, who was with him in the car, said his father was physically unable to breathe enough to take the test.
"It was tough," Christian said of his father's experience with the police. "They denied him a basic right"
From the start, his family has maintained that Colin was not drunk and did not drink alcohol. They say the police misinterpreted Colin's symptoms of type 2 diabetes and diabetic neuropathy in his feet.
"My brother was not drunk." "My brother was not drunk," said Colin's brother, Derek Gray. "My brother told these people, 'I'm diabetic.' As soon as he said those words, they should have called a doctor." They denied him a basic right."
Family lawyer Joel Dick said Colin never received medical attention during the five-plus hours he spent in custody.
Derek and Christian Grey
Colin's son, Christian, right, and Colin's brother, Derek, left, say they don't want other families to go through the pain they experienced.
A CBSA spokesperson previously told CBC News that officers followed all internal protocols, including asking if they had any health issues when they ate their last meal and checking on them every 15 minutes in a cell.
"Honestly, we don't know if the policies are wrong or if they're not being followed," Dick said. "The only way, the best way, to get to the bottom of all these issues and to make sure this never happens to another family is to have a judicial investigation."
The coroner's investigation into the death has not officially concluded, but Rose said someone in the office called to let him know last week that there was no alcohol in his blood. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told CBC News that a decision on an inquest request cannot be made until the death investigation is complete, which could take six to nine months.
Colin was eventually transferred to Windsor police custody. He was released the same day after being held for more than five hours between two law enforcement agencies.
Dick said Windsor police charged him with failing to provide a breath sample and driving while intoxicated.
Moments after his release, Windsor police said he suffered medical distress outside police headquarters and later died. A Windsor police spokesman could not say in advance whether officers had been informed of Colin's medical information, whether he had received medical attention or whether he had been offered anything to eat or drink while in custody.
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