Warning: some may find details in this article disturbing
Alain Bellefeuille was handcuffed behind his back and hunched over on a gurney in an ambulance as he was transported to hospital less than three hours after he was arrested in connection to the fatal shooting of an Ontario Provincial Police officer in Bourget, Ont. in May 2023.
A 20-minute video of the ambulance ride was played for the jury at Bellefeuille’s murder trial Wednesday.
The footage was captured on the body-worn camera of Const. Justin Boyd who had been present at the Rockland OPP detachment where Bellefeuille had been taken after his arrest.
OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller was killed and two other officers were injured in the shooting around 2:30 a.m. on May 22, 2023. The officers had been sent to do a wellness check on Bellefeuille after a neighbour called 911 reporting a gunshot.
Bellefeuille has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Bellefeuille taking Mueller’s life and injuring the other officers is not being disputed in court. His lawyers argue he never intended to kill police and thought he was shooting at intruders.
The Crown argues Bellefeuille was lying in wait and ambushed the officers seconds after they entered his house.
Boyd testified before the court on Tuesday and Wednesday. Boyd said that although he “didn’t observe any significant injuries that needed immediate medical attention,” paramedics decided to transport Bellefeuille to hospital.
Images of Bellefeuille with a contusion on his head were shown to the jury on Wednesday. In the ambulance, the paramedic is seen putting a blanket around Bellefeuille’s shoulders. He was in nothing but his underwear after he was searched at the Rockland detachment, the footage shows.
Boyd testified that they tried to find him a “bunny suit”— described as being like a “paper onesie” but they couldn’t find one.
Leo Russomanno, one of Bellefeuille’s lawyers, put to Boyd that paramedics were asking Bellefeuille medical-related questions and that he was not responsive to those questions in the ambulance.
“Yes,” Boyd replied.
Russomanno asked, “You recall Mr. Bellefeuille was crying at times?”
“Yes he was,” Boyd said.
Boyd also testified on Tuesday that a shell casing was seized during a search of Bellefeuille.
“You don’t know where it came from… where it was seized?” Russomanno asked Boyd under cross-examination Wednesday.
Boyd replied that he didn’t have any recollection of where it was found.
“Did you see it being found?” Russomanno asked.
Boyd said, “I’m not sure, I don’t recall.”
During re-examination by the Crown, Boyd referred to an interview he did a few weeks after the shooting that refreshed his memory.
Boyd said he had removed the items from Bellefeuille’s clothing as it was being cut off him by paramedics at the Rockland OPP detachment.
He’d written down in his duty book that a shell casing had been seized on a different page than where he’d written all the other items found in Bellefeuille’s pockets.
“The reference you have in your notes doesn’t say that the casing came out of Mr. Bellefeuille’s clothing in the process of searching, does it?” Russomanno asked Boyd.
“No it doesn’t,” Boyd replied.
Documenting the scene and officers’ belongings
Det.- Const. Brittany Falls with the OPP forensic identification unit testified that Mueller’s pants were so saturated in blood that the blue pinstripe down his pants had turned red.
She was tasked with documenting the scene and collecting the personal and professional belongings of Mueller and Const. Marc Lauzon, who was injured.
The jury was shown photos of Mueller’s pants and shirt that had holes and tearing in the fabric.
Fragments of copper were woven into the fabric of the tears in his duty shirt.
The jury was also shown photos of a damaged handcuff case that was covered in blood.
“It would take an extreme amount of force to remove it,” Falls testified.
Falls testified that hundreds of photos were taken as part of the investigation, including of a broken key fob, twisted metal key and Mueller’s wedding ring.
The trial continues Thursday.
