Direct examination of Willie Ford

📄 Direct examination of Willie Ford — Wednesday, December 11, 1996

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\DEC\11\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-WILLIE-F.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 30 of 57

◀ Willie Ford sworn in Redirect examination of Willie Ford ▶

Witness: Willie Ford
Examiner: Peter Gelblum
Called by: Plaintiff • Date: Wednesday, December 11, 1996 • Utterances: 204

Willie Ford, an LAPD Scientific Investigation Division officer, testified about his video recording of OJ Simpson's Rockingham residence on June 13, 1994. Defense attorney Baker used Ford's testimony to establish that when Ford videotaped Simpson's master bedroom at approximately 4:15-4:20 PM, no socks were visible on the carpet in front of the bed — directly undercutting the prosecution's account that criminalist Dennis Fung collected socks from that same spot between 4:30 and 4:40 PM. The examination built methodically toward the implication that the socks were planted after Ford left the room.

# 1 Q:

Good afternoon, Mr. Ford.

# 2 A:

Good afternoon.

# 3 Q:

How long you been working with the police department?

# 4 A:

Going on 15 years.

# 5 Q:

And you've worked with SID; is that right?

# 6 A:

Yes, sir.

# 7 Q:

And what does SID stand for?

# 8 A:

Scientific Investigation Division.

# 9 Q:

I want to take you back to the date of June 13, 1994. Do you recall that date?

# 10 A:

Yes, sir.

# 11 Q:

Did you, at some point, receive a call to go to 360 North Rockingham?

# 12 A:

Yes, sir.

# 13 Q:

And how did you get to 360 North Rockingham?

# 14 A:

We drove our SID van up there.

# 15 Q:

And who did you drive with?

# 16 A:

My boss, David Atkins.

# 17 Q:

And what time did you arrive at 360 North Rockingham?

# 18 A:

I think approximately around 3 o'clock.

# 19 Q:

Okay.

And the Rockingham log shows 3:10.

Would you agree that was about the time that you arrived there?

# 20 A:

Yes, sir.

# 21 Q:

And what was your purpose in going to 360 North Rockingham?

# 22 A:

To videotape all of Mr. Simpson's personal effects that were out in the open, not to open up any drawers or any doors, to videotape anything else. Everything that was out.

# 23 Q:

And what was the reason -- did you ever come to an understanding as to the reason you were supposed to videotape the residence?

# 24 A:

Yes, sir. Detective, I think, Haro, says they were getting ready to lock up his place, and I was to videotape everything that was left in the room.

# 25 Q:

And as I understand it, you had an RCA VHS camcorder?

# 26 A:

Yes, sir.

# 27 Q:

And what did you first -- or strike that.

On the bottom of the videotape is a time counter; is that right?

# 28 A:

Yes, sir.

# 29 Q:

And the time counter shows the time that the videotape was recorded; is that right?

# 30 A:

Yes.

# 31 Q:

And as I understand it, you later learned that that time counter was off; is that correct?

# 32 A:

Yes, sir.

# 33 Q:

And, for example, just to be clear, the time counter on your videotape shows that you were in Mr. Simpson's bedroom at approximately 3:13 p.m.; is that correct?

# 34 A:

The -- on the videotape it shows that?

# 35 Q:

Right.

# 36 A:

Yes, sir.

# 37 Q:

And you understand that that's not correct, true?

# 38 A:

Yes, sir.

# 39 Q:

And by the way, what time did you leave 360 North Rockingham?

# 40 A:

I would say about 4:30, I think.

# 41 Q:

Okay.

And when were you in Mr. Simpson's bedroom, in relation to the time you left Rockingham?

# 42 A:

I would say within about 10 minutes before that, 4:30.

# 43 Q:

So if the videotape shows that you're in the Rockingham -- O.J. Simpson's master bedroom at 3:13, and that it's your understanding that you were there at about 4:20, you would agree that the time is about off -- is off about an hour and 10 minutes, true?

# 44 A:

The time in the video camera was really not a factor, never established whether it was the correct time or not.

# 45 Q:

But if the -- if the clock says 3:13 when you're in Mr. Simpson's bedroom, you have an independent recollection of being there around 4:15 to 4:20, right?

# 46 A:

Yes, sir.

# 47 Q:

So the time counter, would be your assumption, is off by about an hour and five minutes, right?

# 48 A:

I would say so.

# 49 Q:

Where did you first videotape -- where did you first record when you went to Mr. Simpson's residence?

# 50 A:

The criminalist hadn't finished collecting anything from inside the house as of yet, so -- so they told me to start outside with the Bronco, and cover all the vehicles on the property, and the children's play toys, lawn furniture, statuary, that sort of thing. Cover everything on the outside first, and then come to the house.

# 51 Q:

So you videotaped the Bronco first?

# 52 A:

Yes, sir.

# 53 Q:

And then you videotaped up the Rockingham driveway?

# 54 A:

Yes, sir.

# 55 Q:

Then you walked around to the northern side of the residence?

# 56 A:

Exactly.

# 57 Q:

Did anyone ever ask you to videotape the southern walkway at 360 Rockingham?

# 58 A:

No, sir.

# 59 Q:

After you videotaped the north side of the residence, where did you go next?

# 60 A:

To the rear of the residence.

# 61 Q:

And what did you do there?

# 62 A:

The pool area, patio, and the tennis court area.

# 63 Q:

Okay. After you videotaped the -- I guess that would be the northeastern portion of the property, where did you go next?

# 64 A:

Into the house.

# 65 Q:

And how did you get into the house?

Which door?

# 66 A:

I walked around on the north side, back towards the front, where I came into the foyer.

# 67 Q:

You walked into the main doorway --

# 68 A:

Yes, sir.

# 69 Q:

-- of the residence?

Did you videotape the foyer?

# 70 A:

Yes.

# 71 Q:

Did you receive any instructions from Officer Haro about where he wanted you to videotape?

# 72 MR. GELBLUM:

Objection. Hearsay.

# 73 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 74 Q:

(BY MR. P. BAKER) You receive any orders from Officer Haro about where he wanted you to videotape?

# 75 A:

Yes. He wanted me to start in the foyer, and make sure that I move slow enough on the videotape to identify items everywhere on the table, on the walls, cover it thoroughly before I moved to the next room.

# 76 Q:

He wanted you to do a thorough job to record, so you'd have an inventory of what was in the house?

# 77 A:

Yes, sir.

# 78 Q:

You tried to do that, didn't you?

# 79 A:

Yes, sir.

# 80 Q:

And you went into the kitchen of Mr. Simpson's residence and videotaped the kitchen?

# 81 A:

Yes, sir.

# 82 Q:

And you videotaped the wall and what was on the the shelves, right?

# 83 A:

Yes, sir.

# 84 Q:

And then you walked into the living room, or the I guess it would be the den, where the televisions were?

# 85 A:

I think it was the office area next.

# 86 Q:

And did you videotape what was inside the office?

# 87 A:

Yes, sir.

# 88 Q:

Did you open up the closet and videotape everything that was in the closet?

# 89 A:

We didn't open -- we just went into the closet.

# 90 Q:

The door was already opened. And then where did you go next?

# 91 A:

To the living room, I think it was.

# 92 Q:

Okay.

And then after the living room, where did you --

# 93 A:

Family room, where the television, I guess, was, and the bar and the game room.

# 94 Q:

And you attempted to videotape everything you observed that was out in the open?

# 95 A:

Yes, sir.

# 96 Q:

Pursuant to Officer Haro's orders, right?

# 97 A:

Yes, sir.

# 98 Q:

And did you understand that your purpose there was to basically protect the police department if anything was broken or stolen, you'd have a video cassette showing what was there --

# 99 A:

Yes.

# 100 Q:

-- on June 13?

Now, eventually you went upstairs at the Rockingham address?

# 101 A:

Yes, sir.

# 102 Q:

An did you notice any blood stains on the carpet going upstairs?

# 103 A:

No, sir.

# 104 Q:

Did you notice any blood stains on the carpet, walking into the master bedroom?

# 105 A:

No, sir.

# 106 Q:

Where did you go first when you got upstairs?

# 107 A:

As I can recall, there were cabinets of linen right there in the hallway, and then there was -- a first bedroom. Went into that room -- I think it was a child's room.

And I came out of there and videotaped some photographs that were on the walls, and went into the next bedroom.

# 108 Q:

Did you encounter Dennis Fung at any point while you were upstairs?

# 109 A:

Not directly. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed he was just going back and forth as he was collecting the evidence.

# 110 Q:

Did you have a conversation with Dennis Fung as you were walking down the hallway towards the master bedroom?

# 111 A:

Yes, sir. To the point where my video light was shining toward the master bedroom. He thought I was coming in. He said "I'm not ready for you yet."

Well, I said okay and continued into the next bedroom.

# 112 Q:

So as you're walking into the master bedroom, Mr. Fung says, "we're not ready for you yet?"

# 113 A:

No. I'm not walking into the master bedroom at this point. I'm videotaping photographs on the hallway wall.

He thought I was coming into the master bedroom when he said, I'm not ready for you.

# 114 Q:

And then at that point, you didn't go in the master bedroom?

# 115 A:

No, I didn't. I turned into the next bedroom.

# 116 Q:

And you walked into the second children's room?

# 117 A:

Yes, sir.

# 118 Q:

And after you videotaped that, where did you go?

Where did you go?

# 119 A:

I don't recall exactly. But there was a small area where there was a huge closet that I went into. I don't know if that was right after that bedroom or not.

But basically, after that was the master bedroom.

# 120 Q:

Okay.

And when you walked into the master bedroom, did you videotape as much -- or everything that was out in the open in the master bedroom?

# 121 A:

Yes, sir.

# 122 Q:

And you were in the master bedroom at approximately 4:15 to 4:20 in the afternoon?

# 123 A:

Yes, sir.

# 124 Q:

And did you see a fireplace on the far side of the master bedroom?

# 125 A:

Yes, sir.

# 126 Q:

Did you try to videotape that?

# 127 A:

Yes, I did.

# 128 Q:

Did you see, as you walk into the master bedroom, a couch to the left of you?

# 129 A:

Yes, sir.

# 130 Q:

Did you try to videotape that?

# 131 A:

Yes, I did.

# 132 Q:

Did you see kind of a reclining or, I don't know, LaZ-Boy-type chair to the left when you walked in?

# 133 A:

I don't recall right now.

# 134 Q:

But as I understand it, you tried to tape everything that was out in the open, when you walked into that master bedroom, correct?

# 135 A:

Yes, sir.

# 136 Q:

And by the way, you were there for a little bit over an hour, correct?

# 137 A:

Yes, sir.

# 138 Q:

And the tape's only 20 to 30 minutes. Why is that?

# 139 A:

Well, I'm not filming for the entire time. I'm filming just slow enough so you can see the image, and then I go on to something else.

# 140 Q:

Okay.

Did you videotape any suspenders on Mr. Simpson's bed?

# 141 A:

I think I did.

# 142 Q:

Did you ever see any socks on the carpet in front of Mr. Simpson's bed?

# 143 A:

No, sir.

# 144 Q:

As I understand it, you videotaped -- there's actually two portions on that videotape when you're videotaping Mr. Simpson bedroom; is that correct?

In other words -- my question is not very good.

You walked in on the first occasion; you're standing in the room, and you videotaped from the doorway?

# 145 A:

Yes.

# 146 Q:

Kind of back of the room?

# 147 A:

Right.

# 148 Q:

At some point, you stop the tape after that. True?

# 149 A:

Yes, sir.

# 150 Q:

And you walk over to the front of the bed and videotape the left side of the room, and pan back towards the bed?

# 151 A:

Yes, sir.

# 152 Q:

And you never pointed the videotape at the carpet laying in front of the bed, right?

# 153 A:

Not at the carpet, no, sir.

# 154 Q:

Why was that?

# 155 (No verbal response.)

# 156 Q:

Did you see anything open, or out, or any socks on the carpet?

# 157 A:

No, sir.

MR. P. BAKER: Your Honor, I'm only going to play the portions of Mr. --

# 158 MR. KELLY:

Ford.

MR. P. BAKER: I think it's Exhibit 901 -- of Mr. Ford's videotape of the master bedroom.

When you're lowest on the totem pole, you have you to work the videotape, also.

# 159 (The instrument herein referred to as Videotape taken by Willie Ford of the residence at 360 North Rockingham on June 13, 1994, was marked for identification as Defendants' Exhibit No. 901.)

# 160 (Defendant's Exhibit 901, videotape, being displayed on the Elmo screen.)

# 161 Q:

(BY MR. P. BAKER) That's when you were walking into the master bedroom?

# 162 A:

Yes.

# 163 Q:

To the couch, to the left of Mr. Simpson's bed.

# 164 (Videotape notes the time as. 3:13 p.m.)

# 165 Q:

(BY MR. P. BAKER) That was the chair I was trying to describe earlier; is that true?

# 166 A:

Yes, sir.

# 167 Q:

That's the fireplace and there's another carpet, right?

# 168 A:

Yes.

# 169 Q:

That's Mr. Simpson's bed, true?

# 170 A:

Yes, sir.

# 171 Q:

Mr. Simpson's bed from behind?

# 172 A:

Yes.

# 173 Q:

And that's his vanity?

# 174 A:

Yes, sir.

# 175 Q:

And then you proceed into his closet, correct?

# 176 A:

Yes.

# 177 Q:

During the time you were filming that videotape, you never saw any socks on that carpet, true?

# 178 A:

No, sir.

# 179 Q:

You never saw any blood stains on that carpet, correct?

# 180 A:

No, I didn't.

# 181 Q:

After you walked out of the master bedroom, you walked and filmed Mr. Simpson's closet?

# 182 A:

Yes.

# 183 Q:

After you went to the vanity, or I guess if you're from Louisiana, they call it a bureau.

# 184 MR. PETROCELLI:

In New Jersey.

# 185 MR. LEONARD:

In New Jersey, too.

MR. P. BAKER: We're very sheik in California.

# 186 Q:

(BY MR. P. BAKER) You filmed his closet next?

# 187 A:

Yes.

# 188 Q:

Then you filmed his bathroom next?

# 189 A:

Yes.

# 190 Q:

Then you eventually left the bedroom, correct?

# 191 A:

Yes.

# 192 Q:

And what time would this be around when you were leaving the bedroom?

# 193 A:

I would say approximately 4:20.

# 194 Q:

Okay.

Did you see any socks when you left the bedroom at 4:20?

# 195 A:

No.

# 196 Q:

And if Mr. Fung sat on that stand and said he collected two socks from that carpet between 4:30 and 4:40, someone must have put them there after you were there, true.

KEY QUOTE

# 197 MR. GELBLUM:

Objection. Calls for hearsay, speculation.

# 198 THE COURT:

Sustained. Jury to disregard that question.

# 199 Q:

(BY MR. P. BAKER) There were no socks there when you left that room, true?

# 200 A:

No, sir.

Yes, sir; there was no socks.

# 201 Q:

You don't have a book deal, do you, Mr. Ford?

KEY QUOTE

# 202 A:

No, sir.

# 203 Q:

You just came here to tell the truth?

# 204 A:

Yes, sir.

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. GELBLUM:

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Willie Ford

No, sir. Yes, sir; there was no socks.

Ford's unambiguous confirmation that no socks were on the carpet when he left the bedroom at ~4:20 PM — the central point of his testimony supporting a sock-planting theory.

Willie Ford

He thought I was coming in. He said 'I'm not ready for you yet.'

Ford's recollection of Fung telling him not to enter the master bedroom yet — establishing Fung was still processing the room, and Ford had to wait.

P. Baker

And if Mr. Fung sat on that stand and said he collected two socks from that carpet between 4:30 and 4:40, someone must have put them there after you were there, true.

The explicit planting argument — sustained as speculation, but the jury heard it before the objection.

P. Baker

You don't have a book deal, do you, Mr. Ford?

A pointed contrast to other witnesses (implicitly Fuhrman and others with deals), offered to bolster Ford's credibility as a disinterested truth-teller.

Evidence (2)

Defendants' Exhibit 901

VHS videotape recorded by Willie Ford of the interior of 360 North Rockingham on June 13, 1994, including the master bedroom

marked, displayed on Elmo screen during testimony

Informal

Rockingham property log showing arrival time of 3:10 PM

referenced to establish timeline

Notable Exchanges (3)

P. Baker•Willie Ford

Baker walked Ford through the timeline discrepancy in the videotape's time counter — showing the camera clock read 3:13 PM during the bedroom footage but Ford was actually there around 4:15-4:20 PM, establishing the clock was off by ~65 minutes.

strategic

P. Baker•Willie Ford

Baker asked why Ford never pointed the camera at the carpet in front of the bed. Ford gave no verbal response — a notable silence — before Baker moved on.

revealing

P. Baker•Daniel Petrocelli•Dan Leonard

Sidebar banter between attorneys about whether 'bureau' or 'vanity' is the correct word, with Petrocelli and Leonard claiming New Jersey usage and Baker joking about California being 'very sheik.'

light

Light Moments (2)

P. Baker

Baker, struggling with the VHS equipment: 'When you're lowest on the totem pole, you have to work the videotape, also.'

P. Baker, Daniel Petrocelli, Dan Leonard

Banter about regional vocabulary — 'bureau' (Louisiana/New Jersey) vs. 'vanity' (California) — with Petrocelli and Leonard both claiming New Jersey, and Baker declaring 'We're very sheik in California.'

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Willie Ford

none — witness bolstered

Baker explicitly bolstered Ford by asking whether he had a book deal (answer: no), implicitly contrasting him with witnesses whose financial motives might compromise their testimony.

Witness Demeanor

(No verbal response.) — when asked why he never pointed the camera at the carpet in front of the bed

Objections

2 objections (1 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 8592 • 204 utterances • Plaintiff witness

Civil Trial

Department 103