As his court date approaches, questions keep piling up about Rev. Darryl Gray's high-profile case. Has this Montreal black community leader been made a martyr?
Just over a month ago Rev. Darryl Gray stood at the pulpit of the Union United Church, the place where he has tended to his flock as pastor and built a reputation in this city.
"I pray to a God who says, ‘Forgive them, for they know not what they do,’" he told the congregation. Gray was quoting the words that Jesus is said to have spoken from the cross, referring to those who had put him to death. When Gray spoke them, he was bearing the full weight of his own cross. Days before that April 26 sermon it was revealed that Gray was facing a charge of assaulting his wife in an incident on January 2. Both he and his wife, Olive Simmonds, deny the charge. But a police report filed by officers who were called to Gray’s NDG home that night says otherwise.
The report, which was leaked to The Gazette, describes the officers arriving at the Gray home to find the Christmas tree overturned and Simmonds upstairs in the bedroom, crying. The officers reported redness and a bruise under her left eye, and said it "seemed" she had been hit. Simmonds refused to say she was hit at that time, and maintains that position now.
Hour has learned that at least two witnesses are prepared to testify they saw Simmonds shortly after the alleged incident and that she did not show any signs of bruising or redness on her face.
High-profile trouble
"I can confirm there are two people who have come forward to say they saw her that day, and that she did not have a black eye," says Daniel Lighter, Gray’s attorney.
Gray is perhaps the most high-profile leader of the black community in Montreal. He leads an active, dedicated parish in Little Burgundy, was elected the interim leader of anglo-rights group Alliance Quebec, has offered sanctuary to refugees facing deportation, and is an outspoken critic of the police and police violence in particular. (Gray is currently absent from the church, taking a "self-imposed leave" until June 10, the day before his court hearing.)
The result of years of work, Gray’s media and community profile is partly what has driven an allegation of domestic abuse from something that might otherwise have generated a small news item (or none at all) to the front page and the nightly news.
While the fundamental question in this case is whether another woman was assaulted in our society, it is increasingly becoming less about what happened that day and more about what has happened since. The coincidences, leaks, and accusations of unfair media coverage have come to dominate this story.
When Gray quoted Jesus, calling for forgiveness for "them," for those "who know not what they do," he was perhaps speaking of the media, of his critics, of those behind the persistent whisperings that have caught the ears of so many even before this case became public.
From leak to flood
April brought showers to the offices of Global TV in Montreal. But rather than rain from the sky, it was rumours that poured down. The word on the street was that Rev. Gray was likely to be charged with something. And so each day for a period of roughly three weeks a Global reporter made a stop at the municipal courthouse and plugged in Rev. Gray’s name to see if anything came up. On April 21 the rumours became true when court documents revealed Gray was being charged with a single count of simple assault, and had been issued a summons to appear in Montreal municipal court. Global News broke the story that evening.
Ward Smith, news director at Global, can’t say where the rumours came from, but says they were sufficient to warrant conducting research.
"I know that this is a very sensitive issue for everyone," he says. "We did our due diligence, followed up on hearsay and verified that there was a charge…. If we hadn’t reported it, that would have been showing a bias."
Global is not the only news organization to be led to documents that otherwise might not have caught the attention of the media. On April 27, The Gazette was leaked a copy of the police report on the incident, which had yet to be provided to Gray, his wife, or their lawyer. Once they verified it was authentic, says Gazette editor-in-chief Peter Stockland, it was clear that the contents needed to be published.
"[Rev. Gray] has clearly taken on some people who are angry at him but our role isn’t to mediate that dispute or pull back," says Stockland. "[Our job] is to report factual information as it comes before us. We had facts and information that made a compelling news story and we handled it ethically."
Of concern to the black community and other supporters of Gray, aside from the weight and tone of media coverage, is the question of who was leading the media to these documents.
"What are the motives and why was it given to the media at that point in time?" asks Michael Gittens of the Côte-des-Neiges Black Community Association. "We want an answer. Why?"
"We’re not going to get into a debate over motives," says Stockland.
As reported in Hour two weeks ago, Gray’s lawyer suspects it was the police that leaked the report to The Gazette. The police are now conducting an internal investigation to determine if that is the case.
Questions of timing
Combined with the whispering campaign and media leaks, the timing of the charge itself strikes many as suspect. It was filed over three months after the alleged incident occurred, and came just over a month after Gray made some of his strongest condemnations of the police over their handling of the death of Rohan Wilson, a 28-year-old black man who died during an intervention involving the Montreal police. News of the charge also hit the media a month before the contentious leadership election for Alliance Quebec that Gray was expected to win.
Rob Bull, a spokesman for Alliance Quebec, says Gray still "seems to be in the lead" for the elections on May 29. But that an incident, which allegedly took place in January, is coming to light at the exact time of the campaign is something Bull finds curious.
"What a funny coincidence," he says. "If you’re looking for villains, there is a plethora of potential ones."
Some question why, if they believed an assault had occurred, the police did not arrest Gray back in January, or at least bar him from the family home.
"Normally, if such a claim of abuse is made the police do not allow the family to stay together or the husband to stay in the house," says Gittens. "If such a thing took place, then why [charge him] now, four months later?"
(The decision to press charges falls to the crown prosecutor, not the police.)
Others wonder why, if in fact they had simply been arguing, Gray’s wife called 911.
"What she said is they had a fight and she was very upset, the Christmas tree was down, and he stormed off in a car she had rented," says Lighter, Gray’s attorney. "She decided she wanted someone to intervene."
The questions and suspicions abound. With Gray’s hearing set for June 11, we may begin to find out what really happened that January day.
But the other, conspiracy-laden questions and suspicions that swirl around this matter are unlikely to be put to rest. If Gray is guilty, they will seem irrelevant. If he is innocent, one wonders if he will still pray for forgiveness of those "who know not what they do."
11 comments
I think Darryl Gray did beat up his wife and I think he should be prosecuted and be behind bars of that act he committed. It is a shame that Gray is a reverend and I think he should be stripped of his duties and then he would learn his lesson. Shame on Darryl Gray.
First off, kudos to the HOUR for *finally following up* on a story instead of just dropping the bomb and moving on.
Secondly, since so much of this hinges on whether or not you believe Rev. Darryl Gray struck his wife or not I think we should all take a step back look at the given facts and use our common sense to reach a conclusion. Ok, if he’s guilty, he should be punished–if he’s not, he’s being set up to take a fall by various outside forces. Either way we are looking at a can of worms.
Thirdly, regardless or not if he actually did the deed, if you look outside the picture, you realize that the whole notion of due process and proper procedure have been violated. In effect, the leak is a strong indicator as to how truly fractured our legal system has become. The timing of these leaks seem damned CONVENIENT, to say the least. There seems to be a grander agenda in play here that goes beyond the simple accusation of domestic abuse.
Maybe Gray is a criminal but I find it odd that those who are supposed to uphold the law seem to be using wholy criminal methods.
I’m not going to say that there some conspiracy at play but I think it’s safe to say that events are unfolding in a way that go beyond the simple accusation of domestic abuse.
The point here is whether or not Gray is justified in claiming bias or conspiracy by the media – and the answer is NO.
It’s been clear from the start that the media reporting this ‘incident’ have stuck with the facts, and put forth no direct opinion, taken no sides. The fact that any of the newspapers checked their sources and researched the ‘incident’ until it was official actually astounds me – in fact, it seems as though Gray got preferential treatment, as most journalists these days are so focused on the scoop that they often neglect their responsibility and ‘forget’ to check their sources, or simply don’t care.
The simple fact is: once you involve a public institution (ie: 911 emergency and the police dept.) in a domestic matter, why would you be surprised if the dispute becomes a media issue? ESPECIALLY when it involves someone who has planted himself right into the middle of the spoltlight of the public eye.
There are only two people to blame here: Simmonds, for reporting the incident to the police and then complaining when they followed up, and Gray for trying to deflect the IMPORTANT issue – the alleged domestic assault – onto the media.
It’s easy to blame everyone but oneself, isn’t it? Maybe next time Gray should keep his temper, and then he wouldn’t have to worry about who finds out…
We should leave Mr. Gray and his family alone because his own wife has said that he never physically abused her and I think we should let Gray get back to doing his work. On the other hand this could be the case of Tina & Ike Turner when Tina use to always deny that Ike was beating her up to protect his reputation. I hope that this matter will be resolved and Mr. Gray and his wife can get back to living their normal lives.
It seems to me that this is one of the top stories of the year in the city of Montreal. This should be a very interesting to see how this is going to fold out in court.
“They’ll just print anything they hear,” sighed Amy, over her morning danish.
“But they really did their research,” offered Chip. “Look at all those dates and stuff.”
Julie picked up the paper and scanned the article. “Yeah, we now know that there were rumors about this, and that the story was first reported on TV April 21st, and that a police report was leaked to the paper April 27th, and that the report was probably leaked by the police.”
“Probably?” Amy raised an eyebrow,
“Well, who else would have done it?” Julie shrugged. “The police in this city are out of control.”
“And we also know that lots of people are upset about it,” added Chip.
Robert looked up from his coffee. “That he allegedly hit his wife?”
Amy rolled her eyes. “No, that someone told the press about it.”
“Hey, this could really hurt his political career!” Julie threw the paper down onto the table.
Robert looked back and forth between the two women. “I thought he was a preacher?”
“He’s not only that,” explained Julie.
“Right, now he’s a martyr,” Amy threw up her hands.
“Is he dead?” Robert looked down at where the paper lay discarded.
“No, but his political career might be.” Julie crossed her arms over her chest.
“Maybe he should have thought of that before he hit his wife,” Chip chimed in.
“Allegedly,” Julie corrected. “_She_ says he didn’t.”
“But she’s the one who called 911,” Chip argued.
“But witnesses say she had no bruises,” Julie countered.
Amy pulled a small compact out of her purse and started powdering her nose. “Yeah, good point,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Man, this is weird.” Chip shook his head. “It’s like a conspiracy.”
“Good thing the media is here, to help us figure it out.” Amy rolled her eyes again.
“Sounds like they should take this to court,” offered Robert.
“It won’t come up there until June 11th,” complained Julie.
“But it’s scheduled to?” Robert questioned.
Julie nodded.
“Oh.” Robert shook his head
We should let the judiciary system take care of this whole affair. The role of the media is to ensure that the public is well informed of what is going on. The role of the media is not to take sides simply because this case involves domestic violence allegedly perpetrated by a public figure. In fact, one should expect an impartial coverage of the trial to make sure that due process takes place. We should take note of what happened in Quebec City regarding the media circus that took place around public figures prosecuted for dealing with under-age prostitutes. We should not ask for mob rule but for stern yet impartial justice.
Whatever happened – only 2 people really know.
What we do know is – is that if Reverend Gray was not a (semi)celebrity, that none of this nonsense would be known at all. I prefer to wait till eventual trial to see what the facts say before passing any judgement on the man. Doesn’t surprise me at all, that Global and the Gazette – what tries to pass as a news source in this city, were the people that first reported it. One wonders, if the person involved wasn’t prominent in the community, more importantly the black ( and/or anglo ) community -whether or not the report would have rated even a mention in the weekly police beat.
And if it did happen – and we’re not 100% sure of that at this point – was it an isolated incident, was there a reason ( not that it justifies it ), was it possibly self-defense – any amount of follow-ups need to be answered before reporting on it.
One wonders- whether or not the Gazette and Global, really cared beyond the JUICY NEWS – instead of doing their jobs – reporting the news that needs to be known, not just conjecture and gossip. WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY – all need to be answered – and doesn’t seem to me like they gave the man, his family, his community- a fair shake – before reporting what happened.
That all being said – if it does come out that he did abuse her – I do hope they make an example out of him. Thing is- it still isn’t news.
By the way all the halabaloo was going on about Rev. Gray I thought I was down in the deep South of the U.S. where you are hung before all the facts are ready at hand to judge. But why should all this surprise me when known that this happens to occur in the 2nd most racist province in all of Canada. Isn’t this also a funny coincidence that Rev. Gray just happens to be the president of ALLIANCE QUEBEC. Nothing seems to be holy in this province when it comes to prosicuting minorities when they stand up to the corrupt system that we are living- before they start throwing stones, maybe they should lok themselves in the mirror & question if they are holier than thou.
Why is society so judgemental? I think it’s really sad that Rev. Darryl Gray is tried and convicted by the public already without a fair shake yet.
It’s so on fair because he seems to be a very honorable man and very great in the community. Not onlyin his neighbour hood anywhere he can be of service.
I don’t think he can get a fair hearing under the circumstances. It seems he has already been convicted at least by the public which is so on fair.
I’m not going to play judge God is there and he will let justice be served if necessary. If it were the police that leaked this out it is wrong because their intentions obvisiouly was to hurt the Rev Grays reputation which it probably will regardless of the out come.
Dear Rev. Grey
Ref: http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=3224
We live in a ‘big brother’ society where any unsupported allegation of domestic violence, as spurious as it could be, can play havoc into the life of any family.Your ordeal document this situation beyond scrutiny. See http://www.dvmen.org for more.
These policies where enacted to comply to the intensive lobby levied by integrist militants among the feminist mouvement. They are, in my understanding, evil forces whose aim is to destroy our social’s fabric by removing the figure of the father from the life of their siblings. Emasculation, it should be properly refered to…
Domestic Violence is not a problem in our society. Rather, DV is a flourishing industry. The justices on the bench, the lawers, crown and defense alike, the police officers, the social workers, the psychologists, even the psychotherapists make a comfortable living from it to the expense of honest worker’s lives. The men embedded in the nightmare are likely to waste their family’s wealth in legal fees never to see justice. Worst of all, in several cases, they never see their own children again. Half the population is at risk, discriminated against on the basis of their gender…
Remaining silent in front of such wicked miscarriage of law and order by the police and the crown representatives is akin to complicity of crime against humanity. After a malicious encounter with the sickening policies, will you or any of your collegue ever have the courage to speak out publicly against the daily enactment of barbarism in the very core of our society. As of today, arbitrary measures occurs behind wall, a conspiracy of silence…
Fairness for all!
Hermil LeBel
limreh3@yahoo.ca
Membre: Coalition pour la Défense du Droit des Hommes du Québec http://www.coalitiondeshommes.org
L’Après-Rupture http://www.lapresrupture.qc.ca
This news story got blown out of all proportion for no good reason and I for one am happy to see Gray at the helm of Alliance Quebec and not having to defend himself in court. When I have often heard him on CJAD radio, he has never been afraid to express his strong views and it is therefore not surprising that the Police had a grudge against him. On the radio he easily got under the skin of the other panelists even though they normally got along famously with each other. Gray was however justified in his opinions because many blacks were killed in recent years by the Police and the cops were not adequately punished for these deeds! Gray was from outside the province and less constrained to self censure. Also as a man of God he was passionate in his endeavors knowing that the Great Almighty would help him fight his battles. Let him get on with his life vision. We need more people like him.