Crown prosecutors are making their final arguments in the first degree murder trial of the man who allegedly shot Maple Ridge RCMP officer Const. Rick O’Brien.
The lengthy trial of Nicholas Bellemare began in New Westminster Supreme Court on Monday, Nov. 3. Now Crown prosecutor Theresa Iandiorio is summarizing the case against him, starting on June 17.
O’Brien and four other officers had a warrant to search a drug stash house on the 22nd storey of an apartment building at 3007 Glen Dr. in Coquitlam on Sept. 22, 2023.
He was the first officer through the door, and was shot three times in the head by an AR-15 rifle. Bellemare is also charged with the attempted murder of Cpl. Colin Ryder during the same shooting.
Iandiorio told the court that an argument of self defence is not available to Bellemare.
“There is no air of reality to the defence of self defence,” she said.
She noted Bellemare, 24 at the time, was sober, and suffered no mental disorder at the time of the shooting.
He was at a stash site, where police found drugs with a street value of $65,000, as well as $5,000 cash, four firearms, bulletproof body armour and helmet, and more than 300 rounds of ammunition.
“He had more ammo in his bedroom than all five police officers combined,” said Iandiorio.
When police knocked on the door and announced themselves, Bellemare got the firearm, she said.
“He armed himself, and readied himself.”
After O’Brien was down, Bellemare continued firing, shooting 10 bullets. He was injured by a pistol shot in the arm, and surrendered to police.
The prosecutor noted Bellemare did not take the stand in his defence, and an accused has a right to silence. But in the absence of his testimony, his actions speak to his intent, she said.
“We say he intended to do exactly what he did.”
The court heard testimony from officers that the team knocked on the apartment door and announced that they were police, said Crown. They then breached the door with a tactical ram, and again called out “police.”
She noted it was quiet in the apartment, and O’Brien apparently did not see or hear anything, or he would have warned the rest of the team. She said they entered cautiously, and that Bellemare was waiting for the officer, and then shot him.
Iandiorio noted there were some differences in the testimony of officers about what was said, but they were consistent in testifying that they announced themselves, and the inconsistencies show the officers did not collude about their testimony.
The prosecutor detailed how the officers’ dress identified them as police, and showed security camera images of the team entering the building. O’Brien was in a Mountie uniform, with both hard and soft body armour on, and “police” written on the armour, front and back, and on his cap. He was also wearing slacks with a yellow stripe down the side. There were RCMP patches on the shoulders of his shirt. She noted O’Brien was 6’2” tall, 233 pounds.
“He was a large man, and every part of him indicated he was a police officer,” said the prosecutor.
She said society can’t have people shooting at police officers in the performance of their duties, then have those shooters claim self defence.
The Crown’s position is that O’Brien did not fire a shot. The magazine of his carbine holds 30 rounds, but officers generally remove some rounds, in order to reduce the chance of the gun jamming after it is fired. Iandiorio noted his weapon had one round in the chamber, and 26 in the magazine. His two spare magazines were not full, with 27 and 28 rounds. No bullet from his weapon was found at the scene, nor any empty shells.
Bellemare was injured by a 9 mm bullet, fired from another officer’s pistol, after O’Brien had been shot, the Crown contends.
She noted the court heard a lot of evidence about lighting, but the shooting occurred on a sunny day, at 10 a.m., and some blinds in the apartment were open. All of the officers who testified said the apartment was sufficiently lit.
The Crown’s final arguments are to continue next week, scheduled for three days, and then the defence will have their last word with their final arguments, starting June 25.