First officers at the scene testify in trial of London, Ont., man accused of murdering Muslim family
CBC
Just 12 shifts into his career as a police officer, Const. Mike Olszowy was dispatched to the intersection of Hyde Park Road and South Carriage Road in London, Ont., on June 6, 2021, where a Muslim family had been struck by a black pickup truck.
"The call was for a vehicle that had struck a pedestrian," Olszowy told the jury on Thursday in Windsor Superior Court at the murder trial of Nathaniel Veltman. "As I went to the call, we learned there was maybe more than one victim and the driver had taken off."
Veltman, 22, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, as well as associated terrorism charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
"I immediately noticed a police officer attending to a victim in the middle of the southbound lanes of Hyde Park Road," Olszowy's training officer, Const. Brock Dease, told the court on Thursday. "I exited my vehicle and saw a woman lying face down, motionless."
Five members of the Afzaal family were on an evening stroll on June 6, 2021, when they were struck by the accused's truck. Yumnah Afzaal, 15, her parents, Madiha Salman, 44, and Salman Afzaal, 46, and family matriarch Talat Afzaal, 74, were killed. A boy who was nine years old at the time survived.
The trial was moved from London, Ont., to Windsor, Ont. Reasons for the move are covered by a publication ban.
Olszowy had rushed to the scene in his cruiser with Dease, who was overseeing him because he was so early in his career.
During his testimony on Thursday, Dease's voice broke as he recounted the injuries he saw on Talat Afzaal, the oldest member of the family. She was not responsive at the chaotic scene with multiple crash victims, people trying to help them, and others watching.
Bystanders were "yelling and screaming" for him to help another victim, the nine-year-old survivor, who was conscious and crying and asking questions, Dease testified.
Dease also tended to the boy's teenage sister, who was moving her head. The court previously heard that Yumnah Afzaal was rushed to hospital with vital signs but efforts to revive her were unsuccessful.
Earlier on Thursday, Det. Michah Bourdeau concluded his three days of testimony and cross examination by defence attorney Christopher Hicks, who asked him repeatedly if the accused's state of mind concerned the officer during two interviews following his arrest.
"His demeanour in the second interview was subdued. He was quieter and more subdued," than the night before, Bourdeau said.
The officer disputed defence suggestions that jail cells are deliberately kept cold and food and drink are withheld to make suspects more willing to speak.
"There is no protocol to increase someone's vulnerability, no trickery, no intent to take advantage of people," Bourdeau said.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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