Nunavut Mountie shot inside truck, trial told

A Nunavut RCMP officer who was killed in November 2007 was shot while sitting in the driver's seat of his police truck, a blood-splatter expert told jurors Monday in the trial of the officer's accused killer.

Const. Douglas Scott, 20, was fatally shot late on Nov. 5, 2007, while investigating a drunk-driving complaint in the Baffin Island community of Kimmirut.

Pingoatuk Kolola, 39, is on trial for first-degree murder in Scott's death. The trial resumed Monday after a weekend break for the 12-person Nunavut court of justice jury.

Testifying by telephone, Sgt. Serge Larocque of the RCMP crime lab in Edmonton told the court he found blood all over the inside of Scott's police truck and the outside of the vehicle's driver's side.

Looked out window

Larocque, who went to Kimmirut to analyze the scene 48 hours after Scott was shot, testified Scott was seated on the driver's side when he suffered a catastrophic gunshot wound to the left side of his nose.

Bloodstains show that on the moment of impact, Scott had turned to look out the passenger-side window, Larocque said. The court had already heard that the driver's-side window in Scott's truck was partially down at the time.

Another RCMP forensic expert, Sgt. Ernie Dechant, said the shot that killed Scott came through the passenger-side window of Scott's truck.

In cross-examining Dechant on Friday, defence lawyer Andrew Mahar argued Kolola had no direct line of sight to the RCMP truck.

But Dechant said that from a certain point, there was a clear line of sight.

Bullet casing in bathroom

Also on Friday, Dechant testified he had found one .30-06 shell casing and a "drug pipe," which he said was likely used for marijuana, in the garbage can of Kolola's apartment bathroom. The items were wrapped in toilet paper and put in the garbage can, Dechant said.

The calibre of the bullet fit a rifle that was found earlier in Kolola's kitchen, the court was told.

But RCMP ballistics expert Kramer Powley testified Monday that he could not conclusively say whether the shell casing found in Kolola's bathroom came from the rifle that was seized from Kolola's home.

While there were similarities between test shells and the recovered shell, Powley said there was too much disagreement to make any conclusions.

Powley confirmed Scott's injuries and the damage to his RCMP truck came from a gunshot that went through the passenger-side window. The shot likely came from a place in or around the stacks of lumber more than nine metres from the police truck, Powley said.

In cross-examining Powley, Mahar tried to narrow down the possible area from which the shot could have been fired, arguing the firearm may have been fired with one hand from the hip.

The RCMP experts were among 20 witnesses the Crown is calling during Kolola's trial, which began Feb. 22 in Iqaluit.

Prosecutor Susanne Boucher said the outcome of the jury trial will likely hinge on whether Kolola had intended to cause serious harm or death to Scott.

Mahar has not indicated to the court to date if he will call any witnesses.