OFFICER SHOT IN ERROR BY TEAMMATE

Bullet Fired During Drug Raid Stopped By Cop's Safety Vest

A plainclothes New Westminster cop was mistakenly shot by another
officer in a drug raid yesterday.

"They had him by his legs and arms and brought him to safety and
covered him up," said witness Kurtis Bezeau, 21.

"I didn't know he was a cop at the time. He was a younger guy, maybe
in his mid-30s, wearing patchy jeans and a raggedy coat."

The drama unfolded at 3 p.m. in the 700-block 4th Avenue inside a
ground-floor apartment in a two-storey apartment complex.

New West Staff-Sgt. Casey Dehaas said police were entering the
apartment to execute a drug warrant when the cop was struck by a
bullet fired by another officer.

The injured officer was wearing a bulletproof vest and was in stable
condition in hospital a few hours after the shooting.

The bullet did not go through the vest, DeHaas said, but the officer
may have some cracked ribs.

"It's like somebody having a huge baseball bat and hitting you full
force," said Dehaas.

"He has some internal injuries and some bruising."

Dehaas said the officer who shot his buddy "is traumatized."

"You're shooting a fellow police officer. We've got support for him."

The search warrant was being executed by a unit called the Integrated
Emergency Response Team, made up of several Vancouver-area police
forces. Police would not say which police department the officer who
fired is from.

Only one shot was fired.

Bezeau, who was working at the nearby Bluebird Dairy corner store,
said there were no police vehicles outside the apartment when the
injured officer was taken out of the building by five men.

"Then five minutes later, about six police cars and an ambulance
turned up. They were all over the place," he said.

Bezeau saw three people being taken out of the building in handcuffs.

"They took the injured guy away, and the three people who got
arrested were a black guy, a female, about 23, and another
rough-looking guy, about 40."

Bezeau was relieved police are focusing on the property, which he
described as "horrible."

"There's been stuff going on in there for a long time. It's a
horrible building," he said. "It's where all the crackheads hang out.
It's pathetic.

"There's a few old people in there who are very nice, so I'm so glad
I saw people get arrested there today. Maybe they'll leave now and
the older residents will be safe."

In March 2003, two New Westminster police officers were shot during a
five-hour manhunt. Both officers and the suspect survived.