OPP officer tells Bellefeuille murder trial he felt hunted down

On the sixth day of Alain Bellefeuille's murder trial, one of the OPP officers who was met with gunfire in Bourget, Ont. almost two years ago, testified that he felt like he was being hunted down.

Const. François Gamache-Asselin was the third officer to approach Bellefeuille's residence around 2:30 a.m. on May 11, 2023. Seconds after they'd entered the front door, Sgt. Eric Mueller was fatally shot, and Const. Marc Lauzon was seriously wounded by gunfire.

After Gamache-Asselin took the witness stand Wednesday, the Crown prosecutor played his bodycam footage to the court, and asked him to describe what it showed, moment by moment.

After stepping out of his police cruiser, Gamache-Asselin follows his two fellow officers to the front door of Bellefeuille's home, Mueller in front and Lauzon closely behind. 

They open the door. A dog barks. The police call out Bellefeuille's name and introduce themselves as "police." Within seconds, a burst of gunfire can be heard on the tape.

Gamache-Asselin retreats behind a patrol car, and calls out to his fellow officers.

"Guys, what's going on?" he can be heard asking.

He told the court that he'd heard someone — who he identified as Lauzon — crying out in pain from the doorway.

The prosecutor continued the video. More gunshots break out. After they stop, Gamache-Asselin calls out again.

"Marc, come here. What's going on?" he says. "Marc, retreat."

He says he could see Lauzon crumpled up in the doorway.

"I see that he is wounded," Gamache-Asselin told the court in French. "I see blood going down his arm."

The sound of gunfire breaks out again, and sparks can be seen close to the ground. Gamache-Asselin says he surmised that it came from a cartridge that flew in his direction. He says that he sustained a laceration injury to his knee.

Gamache-Asselin's bodycam then shows him moving into a wooded area, where he can be heard whispering into his radio. 

"I thought everyone was dead," he told the court in French. "I thought that I was the next victim. I have just gotten an injury in my leg… I whispered because I was afraid that the person or the persons were after me in the forest – like a hunt."

He then switched to English. 

"Hunting me down," he said.

Shortly after, Justice Robert Pelletier cautioned the jury about the use of that phrase, saying it will be up to them to decide what Bellefeuille was intending.

Gamache-Asselin said the events on that night left a lasting impact. He has only returned to full-time employment with the OPP last month, and in a different position.

"On a psychological basis, I could not return as a patrol officer," he said.

Gamache-Asselin's testimony followed defence cross-examination of Bellefeuille's neighbour André Cousineau, who said that Bellefeuille never expressed anything critical of police officers and never gave him any indication that he wanted to harm them.

The trial resumes on Thursday with further testimony expected from Gamache-Asselin. Bellefeuille is facing charges of first-degree murder and two charges of attempted murder.

The trial, which is being held in L'Orignal, Ont., is proceeding in both French and English at Bellefeuille's request.