Shooter intended to kill RCMP officer in Coquitlam condo raid, prosecutor argues
Crown tells B.C. Supreme Court that Nicholas Bellemare fired 10 times with intent to kill Const. Rick O'Brien during drug raid on Sept. 22, 2023.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
Prosecutor Rod Flannigan told B.C. Supreme Court Tuesday that Nicholas Bellemare should be found guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of RCMP Const. Rick O'Brien during a drug raid of Bellemare's 22nd-floor Coquitlam condo because the killing was deliberate and planned.
O'Brien, 41, was shot on Sept. 22, 2023, after he and other officers with a search warrant entered Bellemare's apartment to carry out a raid of a suspected drug stash site. Bellemare, 27, is also being tried for the attempted murder of Const. Colin Ryder, who was injured during the shooting.
The defence is expected to argue Thursday that Bellemare didn't know the people entering his apartment were police and that he shot at the intruders in self-defence. But Flannigan said police witnesses testified they followed standard procedure, repeatedly knocking and announcing their presence before an officer used a battering ram to break down the door.
Officers testified they didn't shoot until after Bellemare fired. He discharged his automatic weapon 10 times; two or three bullets struck O'Brien in the head from the side. Flannigan argued this showed Bellemare was aiming to kill. O'Brien was armed with a carbine and wore a full police uniform, including body armour and a hat emblazoned with "police."
Flannigan noted that Bellemare, someone involved in the drug trade living in a stash site, should not have been surprised if police showed up. When asked why he didn't call 911 or warn supposed robbers that he had a gun, Bellemare instead retrieved a prohibited high-powered firearm from his bedroom closet and started shooting.
"Wouldn't a reasonable person want to find out who that was?" Flannigan asked the court. The prosecutor also cited Bellemare's "spontaneous utterances" after the shooting—telling officers "Your member is dead, there's a hole in his head" and later telling an officer to "f— off" when asked if he heard police announce themselves. O'Brien did not discharge his weapon, and no fired cartridges from his gun were found at the scene.