Sun, March 7, 2004
Cop dodges slug from own pistol
Crook grabs rookie's gun, takes a shot
By MICHELLE MARK, Sun Media
CALGARY -- A quick-thinking rookie police officer stared down the barrel of his own gun and knew it wasn't his time to die. Const. Jean-Marc Boucher, a member of the Calgary Police Service for less than a year and a former Canadian Armed Forces peacekeeper, was nearly murdered in cold blood by a thug who stole his gun.
But Boucher's quick wits and presence of mind to grab the gun and point it away just as the culprit pulled the trigger, spared him his life as a bullet went whizzing past his head.
ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOP
The drama unfolded during a routine traffic stop just before midnight Friday.
Boucher and his partner of only a few hours, Sgt. Richard Nyberg, were pepper sprayed by a culprit as they attempted to arrest him and another man.
"They got (Nyberg) but not enough, so he took off after him in a foot pursuit after that individual," said police Insp. Robb Befus.
Meanwhile, a scuffle ensued between Boucher and the second man on the hood of one of the vehicles.
At some point, the suspect grabbed Boucher's gun.
"Whether the gun fell during the struggle and he picked it up or whether the suspect actually grabbed the gun we can't say at this point because the officer doesn't know," Befus said.
But as the suspect pointed the pistol at him, Boucher's training took over.
"He had the presence of mind to grab the slide of the gun, just like he's instructed to do, and pointed the gun away just as the suspect pulled the trigger, narrowly missing him," Befus said.
As police and RCMP from across Canada mourned the shooting death of Sherwood Park RCMP Const. Jim Galloway just hours earlier, Befus said there is no question that Boucher is lucky to be alive.
"Of course, with God being on our side, he walked away from the incident," he said.
Minutes after Boucher's potentially deadly encounter, K-9 and tactical unit members -- some of whom had just returned from Galloway's funeral -- arrested the suspect still brandishing the stolen handgun in a backyard about a block away.
Police continue to investigate and were still searching for the second suspect.
Boucher became a CPS officer in September, 2003 after eight and a half years of military service, including duty in Bosnia as a corporal with the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians).
Andrew Blair Mazur, 20, of Calgary has been charged with attempted murder and a host of other criminal charges.