Officer at Bellemare trial testifies about chaotic moments when gunfire exchanged in B.C. condo

An RCMP officer who used a battering ram to break through a door at a Coquitlam condo took the stand in the trial of Const. Rick O'Brien's accused killer.

The first-degree murder trial of Nicholas Bellemare heard testimony Wednesday from an RCMP officer who used a battering ram to break open the door of a Coquitlam, B.C., condo where Const. Rick O’Brien died after an exchange of gunfire.

On the stand for a second day, Const. Jaryt Lyons testified that prior to breaching the door on the morning of Sept. 22, 2023, his team received word that suspects had just been arrested at another location raided as part of the same investigation into drug trafficking.

As a result, they were not expecting anybody to be in the 22^nd-floor condo on Glen Drive in Coquitlam.

The court has previously heard Bellemare was not a subject of the initial investigation.

Lyons testified that Const. Amber Carlson, who was leading the raid, knocked on the door as he stood off to one side with the battering ram.

About 10 seconds later, Carlson gave Lyons the signal to breach the door.

He told the court he was successful on his first attempt and the door swung open when he hit it with the battering ram.

Other members of the five-person RCMP team then made their way inside the unit with O’Brien leading the way armed with a carbine rifle.

Lyons testified he heard loud bangs which he thought were consistent with a carbine rifle being fired.

He said he also saw flashes of light, which he described as starbursts, in the dimly lit hallway.

Lyons said he saw Carlson crouch and turn in the hallway.

The court has previously heard Carlson shot the suspect in the arm in the exchange of gunfire.

Lyons testified he returned to the main hallway between units on the floor and saw Sgt. Colin Ryder near the doorway to the stairwell.

Ryder had also been injured in the exchange of gunfire, and when Lyons noticed him bleeding he began to render first aid by applying a tourniquet.

At some point, both men became locked in the stairwell before another RCMP officer opened the door and Lyons returned to the 22^nd-floor hallway.

“Being locked in the stairwell and not knowing what was going on and then going back into that was incredibly terrifying,” he told the court.

Lyons testified once he was out if the stairwell, he saw Carlson had the suspect face down in the hallway with his arms extended in front of him.

He said at that point he turned his attention back to Ryder who had remained in the stairwell, eventually helping his colleague down 22 flights of stairs to reach paramedics on the ground floor.

Lyons testified when he was at home that night, he checked the data recorded by his Apple watch and saw that his heartbeat had jumped to 188 beats per minute as the chaos unfolded after he breached the door.

The Crown alleges Bellemare used a prohibited AR-15-style rifle to shoot O’Brien in the face when police entered the condo unit.

Despite life-saving efforts, first by fellow RCMP officers and then by paramedics, O’Brien did not survive.

Bellemare is charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

He is being tried by judge alone, with no jury, in New Westminster Supreme Court.