Murder trial underway for 2023 killing of B.C. RCMP officer

CBC ArchivesNicholas Bellemare is on trial for the 2023 murder of Ridge Meadows RCMP Const. Rick O’Brien. The trial, which began this week, is expected to conclude in late December.Nicholas Bellemare, 27, charged with 1st-degree murder, attempted murder with a firearmKier Junos · CBC News · Posted: Nov 06, 2025 12:18 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The trial for the man accused of murdering B.C. RCMP Const. Rick O’Brien in 2023 is underway in the B.C. Supreme Court. (Submitted by B.C. RCMP)A neighbour and an RCMP emergency response member were among the witnesses Crown prosecutors called to the stand Wednesday as the trial for the murder of a B.C. police officer entered its third day.Nicholas Bellemare, 27, is accused of killing Ridge Meadows RCMP Const. Rick O’Brien on Sept. 22, 2023.On Wednesday, speaking at the B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, witnesses described how O’Brien and other officers were executing a search warrant in a Coquitlam condo at 3007 Glen Dr., at around 9 a.m. that day.O’Brien was shot dead on scene and two other officers were injured.Bellemare, who police say was also shot and wounded in the altercation, faces one count each of first-degree murder and attempted murder with a firearm. He sat behind Crown prosecutors in a dark grey suit and white, button-up shirt.A neighbour who took the stand on Wednesday described the scene as “total chaos out there.”He says he was working in his condo down the hall from where the firefight happened. Through the peephole of his door, he saw police officers in the hallway, up to an hour before he heard around seven to 10 shots fired.“I saw people moving,” he said. “I could hear gunfire, gunfire. I heard something along the lines of ‘man down, officer down.’”RCMP Const. Danilo Amoranto told the court about sifting through the aftermath of the deadly shooting.Amoranto was part of the emergency response team called to the scene. He said he used a tactical ICOR robot to enter the residence and found four long rifles.The trial is expected to continue until Dec. 19.ABOUT THE AUTHORKier is an award-winning journalist reporting from CBC’s Fraser Valley bureau in Abbotsford.