Accused cop killer's lawyers say Sgt. Eric Mueller's death 'was not an ambush'

The lawyers for the man accused of killing Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Eric Mueller say the officer was not ambushed, contradicting the OPP commissioner's description of the incident.

Lawyers John Hale and Cassandra Richards released a statement on behalf of Alain Bellefeuille, who is facing one count of first-degree murder in the death of Sgt. Mueller and two counts of attempted murder.

OPP say the three officers responded to a call for a disturbance at a home on Laval Street in Bourget, Ont., east of Ottawa, in the early morning hours of May 11.  

"They arrived at a residence on Laval Street in Bourget, and upon arrival three of our officers were ambushed and shot," OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said in a news conference later that day.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, Bellefeuille's lawyers rebuked the comments made by Carrique.

"This was not an ambush," the statement says."We trust that the public – including potential jurors – will remain open to the possibility of an alternate account of events."

The statement says Bellefeuille "neither requested nor expected" officers to show up at his home in the middle of the night.

"He had worked a full day, and had recently gone to bed with plans of getting up early in the morning for work. He was in his bed with the lights off, falling asleep, when one or more officers entered his home," the statement said.

"Mr. Bellefeuille made only one 9-1-1 call that morning, a call for help after the incident took place."

Sgt. Mueller, 42, died following the shooting, while two other officers were treated for injuries. One of them remains in hospital receiving treatment.

Carrique was asked to elaborate on why he described the incident as an ambush.

"Based on the information that I have, when three officers arrive on the scene and within minutes are shot, one is killed, another very seriously and critically injured and another injured to the point of requiring medical attention for simply arriving on the scene….I categorize that as an ambush," Carrique said last week.

Mueller's funeral was held at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

Bellefeuille made a brief court appearance in L'Orignal, Ont. on Thursday and will remain in custody until his next court appearance on June 13.

"We will not be commenting further about Mr. Bellefeuille’s involvement in the May 11 shooting," his lawyers said. "Any other information about Mr. Bellefeuille’s actions that morning, including the hours leading up to it, will be reserved for trial."

Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate.

The Special Investigations Unit has invoked its mandate and is investigating the discharging of a firearm by a police officer during the "Bourget interaction."  The SIU said on Tuesday it was notified by the OPP that one of the surviving officers had fired his gun at some point during the interaction.

"While no one was struck as a result of the police firearm discharge, the SIU has invoked its mandate to look at that aspect of the incident," the SIU said in a statement.