Ben Bou-Nehra's trial for the manslaughter of Shawn Copious started this morning in the Supreme Court before Justice Adolph Lucas. It was a trial that would be energetically prosecuted as Crown Counsel Tracy Sosa had 9 witnesses lined up. And it started with the police witnesses who first had to identify the accused - Chayben Bou-Nahra (Abou-Nehra).
And that's as far as it got because in an incredible case of collective and selective amnesia - four officers who had detained processed and charged Bou-Nahra could not say if the man sitting in the courtroom was the same man they arrested in September of 2005.
So, unable to even identify the accused, after 3:00 this afternoon unable to proceed to present any evidence, Prosecutor Tracey Sosa threw in the towel and conceded that she did not have a case. With that, Justice Adolph Lucas instructed the jury to find Bou-Nahra not guilty of manslaughter.
Seasoned court observers say it is a remarkable end while others called it shameful. In open court, the Judge himself called two of the officers, PC Ramos and Sgt. Polonio quote "worthless and wicked." He reprimanded them for taking his courtroom for a joke, and demanded that they be investigated by the Police Department.
The DPP was even more angry. That's because just yesterday, he set up a team of himself and two prosecutors to sit with those same police officers and went over their statements with them. But
today in court they seemed to have no recollection of what they said in those sworn statements.
We spoke to the DPP and his prosecutors this afternoon.
Lutchman Sooknandan, Director of Public Prosecutions
"I will tell you I am very disappointed with the police who testified in this case. I am so disappointed in them because their job was to present their evidence based on their statement and not to concoct evidence and this is what they did here. They deviated from their evidence given on paper. They said things that were not truthful."
Jules Vasquez,
Why, in your estimation, would they have done such a thing?
Lutchman Sooknandan,
"I have no clue why they did that. I can recall that we spent a whole day, myself, Ms. Sosa and Mr. Ramirez, senior crown counsels, in this office going through the evidence with these four officers and what I learnt today of them going against their own statement and conjuring up evidence of their own volition. My hope was that at least this case would have reached the jury for them to determine. I did not expect that this would be thwarted by our witness in the name of police witnesses and that is appalling.
We will not be satisfied with their incompetence or deliberate misconduct and condone it. This is not going to be tolerated here."
Tracy Sosa, Crown Counsel
"We had no eyewitnesses to this crime. What the prosecution had to work with are four police officers who all visited the scene and at some point at the scene, and at CIB office, dealt with the accused, Mr. Bou-Nehra. What
the prosecution had to do was to link the person they saw at the scene who they said was Mr. Bou-Nehra and the person they saw at CIB as the accused person that was present in court. When we met yesterday Mr. Sooknandan asked them specifically if they could identify the person they saw at the scene and at CIB office. They said yes. When they got on the witness stand, they looked me point blank and told me no, they cannot identify the person who they saw at the scene. Some of them cautioned him, detained him, dealt with him for at least twenty minutes - they could not identify that person. One officer went so far as to give a description independently of his statement saying that the person who he saw at the scene had a beard and was dressed rough which was not in his statement and which he never mentioned to us at any point when we interviewed him.
I was appalled. The judge actually asked one of them, after I finished my examination in chief and after, I don't believe that particular officer was cross examined by the defense, the judge, who is entitled to ask questions of the witness, asked him, 'so am I to take it that you're suffering from amnesia?' He said, 'no I am not suffering from amnesia.'"
Jules Vasquez,
As a professional, as a attorney, as someone whose job it is at the DPP's office to seek justice in the public interest, how does this make you feel?
Tracy Sosa,
"It demoralizes you as an attorney, as a prosecution counsel especially because these were my witnesses. The prosecution cannot work alone. We need the police officers and for them to actually, and I will be so bold to say turn on us, it is really demoralizing and very disappointing."
Lutchman Sooknandan,
"I am really bothered with the behavior of these political witnesses because we in this office depend on the police to do the investigation and to forward the file here and if we have reached the stage where we cannot rely on police and civilian witnesses, it is a police witness who must at all stage try to uplift the rule of law and they do this to us. Where are we going? I am bothered. It does not show a good sign at all."
Jules Vasquez,
Is there any chance that perjury charges could be introduced against them?
Lutchman Sooknandan,
"I will try my best tomorrow to lay the concern of the judge along with my concern to the internal affairs. Whatever they do, but I will follow it up to see what steps they will take because I don't believe this should be the end."
Jules Vasquez,
But isn't it though Sir an extension of the actions by the department that we've seen from your predecessor said that murder charges must be laid and the police just flatly refused to lay those charges and then a caution statement goes missing and the police refuse to accept responsibility for it. Isn't this now just an extension of that action which was first carried out by the senior command of the department to refuse to lay charges and then consequentially by the junior officers to simply, I would say, my words not yours, misrepresent their statements in court?
Lutchman Sooknandan,
"I've seen a pattern but I do not want to speculate but there is a pattern."
Jules Vasquez,
What now are your options now sir as regards the jury has been empanelled and sent home, he's been acquitted and cannot be tried again.
Lutchman Sooknandan,
"Cannot be tried again so that's the end of the matter."
Jules Vasquez,
You said the last time I spoke to you that you are keenly aware of the dynamics of this case; the racial dynamics, the social dynamics of this case, and that a privileged class of society is watching the actions of your office. What now would you say to those who you told to have confidence in your office because you are seriously pursuing this case? What answer can you now give them having the rug been pulled from under you?
Lutchman Sooknandan,
"Jules we have tried our best with all our expertise and it is for the people to see what transpired in this case and be their own judges. I can only speak for this office and I will say we did our best."
Jules Vasquez,
How do you approach your next case?
Tracy Sosa,
"Well the work goes on at this office you know Jules. We finish a case today and the judge instructs us to start one tomorrow or the day after. So I can't ponder on this. I can only hope that there are still officers in the police force that are trustworthy, that are credible, and that will assist this office in prosecution."
As Sooknandan said that's the end of the trial against Bou-Nahra but it's not the end of the matter. As he noted, he will take his and Justice Lucas's complaint to the Police Internal Affairs Department. Four police officers testified. They are Corporal Wilfred Warrior, PC Ramos, Sergeant Polonio, and Sergeant Cacho. None of them could identify Bou-Nahra.
