Kirk Anderson demitted the DPP's office today but before going, he left a real hot potato in the Commissioner of Police's lap. 7NEWS has been reliably informed that Anderson has directed the police to charge Ben Bou-Nehra (Abou-Nehra) for murder. He reportedly sent the police a letter saying so last week Friday, and when nothing was done, he followed up with a directive this week.
Of course, it's only fitting that the DPP should use his last burst of constitutional prerogative to pin down the Bou-Nehra case. That case, after all, is the one that led to his undoing. In July, the DPP's office directed that the charge against Bou-Nehra be Upgraded from manslaughter to murder. The police flatly refused to comply, and after much back and forth involving top government lawyers, the DPP did eventually give in. But Anderson was none too happy about it, and the simmering resentment led to the scenario of over 400 files being sent back and forth between the DPP's office and the Police Department.
And while the case was gone from the headlines, it wasn't forgotten, and now the DPP has sent this latest directive. He is of course, emboldened by the Chief Justice's scolding of the police commissioner last week, for refusing to charge Constable Jesus Marroquin for murder.
With Anderson having left office today, the police may choose to run the gauntlet on this one, but either way, Anderson has said previously that his office would indict Bou-Nehra for murder in the January session of the Supreme Court.
In September of 2005, Ben Bou-Nehra shot Shawn Copious in front of his home. He was originally charged with manslaughter, but a probe by the DPP's office found that the use of deadly force was unjustified, and the murder charge was recommended. Since all the fuss erupted, Bou-Nehra's statement has disappeared from the file.
