Const. Amber Carlson, the lead officer in a 2023 drug raid at a Coquitlam highrise, was struck by bullet fragments from the same shots that killed her colleague Const. Rick O'Brien, a prosecutor said Monday during closing arguments in the murder trial of Nicholas Bellemare.
Prosecutor details the shooting
In B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, prosecutor Theresa Iandiorio said Carlson was close enough to the fatal shooting to be injured. “She felt a spray of blood on her right ear and her neck,” Iandiorio told the court. “She wasn’t sure if it was his blood or if she had been hit. Certainly, it could have been both.”
Bellemare is charged with first-degree murder for shooting O'Brien on Sept. 22, 2023, inside a 22nd-floor suite on Glen Drive. The raid occurred around 10 a.m. when six officers entered a residence they believed was a drug stash site. Bellemare also faces attempted murder charges for injuring Sgt. Colin Ryder, who was wounded in the same incident.
Police witnesses deny self-defence claims
During the trial, which has run for 44 days before Justice Terence Schultes, Carlson and other police witnesses rejected defence suggestions that Bellemare acted in self-defence, that officers failed to announce their arrival, or that police fired first. “She (Carlson) was adamant that Const. O’Brien never fired his firearm,” Iandiorio said.
After O'Brien was shot, Carlson fell backward, moved left, and felt a wall before firing four shots toward where she believed the shooter was. She yelled “shots fired” and “officer down.” She did not see where her shots went but aimed at a dark blur. One of her bullets struck Bellemare in the arm.
Injuries and aftermath
Carlson sustained injuries including a divot on her forehead, fragments hitting her head, and wounds around her eye and nose. “She returned fire because she thought she was under threat and she was right to do so,” Iandiorio said.
The prosecutor also summarized expert testimony on the trajectory of the 17 shots fired. O'Brien, 6-foot-2 and 233 pounds, was armed with a carbine and leading the entry after officer Jaryt Lyons used a battering ram to force the door open.
Knock and announce procedure
Carlson, who led the “knock and announce,” testified she knocked and shouted “police with a search warrant” three times with five- to 10-second pauses before signaling Lyons to breach. Iandiorio noted that after announcing, officers must move quickly to prevent occupants from setting traps, readying weapons, or destroying evidence.
Closing arguments continue Tuesday, with the defence expected to deliver its closing on Thursday.
