Redirect examination of Willie Ford (1 of 2)

📄 Redirect examination of Willie Ford (1 of 2) — Wednesday, December 11, 1996

Address:

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

TRIAL

▲ Day 30 of 57

◀ Direct examination of Willie Ford Redirect examination of Willie Ford ▶

Witness: Willie Ford
Examiner: Peter Gelblum
Called by: Plaintiff • Date: Wednesday, December 11, 1996 • Utterances: 110

Plaintiff's counsel Peter Gelblum cross-examines LAPD videographer Willie Ford, who filmed the Rockingham crime scene after evidence collection. Gelblum established that Ford arrived specifically to film post-collection, and that the absence of socks in his video is consistent with Fung having already collected them — not with them being planted later. An attempt to question Ford about photographs of the socks (Exhibit 728) was blocked as outside the scope of cross.

# 1 Q:

Good afternoon, Mr. Ford.

# 2 A:

Good afternoon.

# 3 Q:

There were no socks there when you left the room?

# 4 A:

That's right.

# 5 Q:

There were no socks when you went in the room?

# 6 A:

That's right.

# 7 Q:

You never saw any socks on the floor?

# 8 A:

Right.

# 9 Q:

Mr. Fung wasn't there when you were in the room?

# 10 A:

No. He had just left.

# 11 Q:

He had just left because he just finished collecting the evidence right?

# 12 A:

Right.

# 13 Q:

That, in fact, was your role there that day, was to film after the evidence had been collected, right?

KEY QUOTE

# 14 A:

Yes, sir.

# 15 Q:

That was your whole purpose for being there?

# 16 A:

Yes, sir.

# 17 Q:

In fact, you started outside because somebody told you they were still working inside, right?

# 18 A:

Yes, sir.

# 19 Q:

And you started downstairs because you said they're still working upstairs, right?

# 20 A:

Yes, sir.

# 21 Q:

And you didn't go in the master bedroom because Dennis said, I'm still working in here, right?

# 22 A:

Yes, sir.

# 23 Q:

So the socks weren't there because they had already been picked up, right?

# 24 A:

Yes.

MR. P. BAKER: Calls for speculation and argumentative.

# 25 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 26 Q:

(BY MR. GELBLUM) Now, you've said you work in the photo unit?

# 27 A:

Yes, sir.

# 28 Q:

Do you sometimes take photographs instead of videotape?

# 29 A:

Yes, I do.

# 30 Q:

And when you take photographs, do you put photo I.D. cards next to the evidence you're photographing?

# 31 A:

We don't, but the criminalist or the detective does.

# 32 Q:

Okay.

Have you seen photographs of the socks in this case with the -- with the little number 13 card next to them?

# 33 A:

Yes.

MR. P. BAKER: Objection. Outside the scope, Judge.

# 34 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 35 MR. GELBLUM:

Your Honor, this is about the collection of the socks, which is exactly what this --

# 36 THE COURT:

No, it's about videotaping.

# 37 MR. GELBLUM:

I'll tie it up, exactly what it's about.

# 38 THE COURT:

This witness is not competent on that.

# 39 MR. GELBLUM:

He did it himself, Your Honor. He just said that.

# 40 THE COURT:

You may call him as your own witness on rebuttal.

# 41 MR. GELBLUM:

It's very brief, Your Honor; very very, brief. Few more questions about the photographing of the socks. I beg your indulgence for a few minutes.

# 42 THE COURT:

All right. Go ahead.

# 43 Q:

(BY MR. GELBLUM) And when the card, numbered card, is put next to the piece of evidence to photograph, is that generally just before it's collected?

# 44 A:

Yes.

# 45 Q:

And then it's collected and the card taken away?

# 46 A:

Yes, sir.

# 47 MR. GELBLUM:

Can you put on 728, please.

MR. P. BAKER: I'd like to see it first.

# 48 MR. GELBLUM:

Sure.

# 49 (Mr. P. Baker reviews photograph.)

# 50 Q:

(BY MR. GELBLUM) While he's looking, you know a photographer at LAPD named Will Song?

# 51 A:

Yes, sir.

# 52 Q:

Was he in the house that day?

# 53 MR. BAKER:

I'm going to object.

MR. P. BAKER: I'd like to approach, Your Honor.

# 54 THE COURT:

I don't think you have to approach. I'm going to sustain the objection.

# 55 MR. GELBLUM:

What's the objection?

MR. P. BAKER: Outside the scope.

# 56 THE COURT:

Yeah.

You're going have to have to lay some foundation before I'm going to allow any questioning on this photograph.

# 57 THE COURT:

You want to call Mr. Ford back? He's a city employee. I'm sure he's around.

# 58 MR. GELBLUM:

That's fine. We'll move on.

We'll move on.

# 59 Q:

(BY MR. GELBLUM) Now, is it true, Mr. Ford that the only -- you have no independent recollection, as you sit here today, what time you were there, what time you left; is that right?

# 60 A:

No, sir.

# 61 Q:

You're basing it entirely on the crime-scene log; is that correct?

KEY QUOTE

# 62 A:

Yes, sir.

# 63 Q:

Did you fill out the crime-scene log?

# 64 A:

No, sir.

# 65 Q:

How does that get -- how does that work?

# 66 A:

You always report in to the officer that has control of the crime-scene log.

# 67 Q:

When you come and when you go?

# 68 A:

When you come and when you go.

# 69 Q:

When you left that day, did you tell the officer that you were leaving?

# 70 A:

Yes, sir.

# 71 Q:

Okay.

Did you see him write down what time it was?

# 72 A:

No.

# 73 Q:

Okay.

# 74 MR. GELBLUM:

Can you put up Exhibit 200, the Rockingham log,

# 75 (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 200, Rockingham Crime-Scene Log, displayed on the Elmo screen.)

# 76 Q:

(BY MR. GELBLUM) Have you ever kept a crime-scene log yourself?

# 77 A:

No, sir.

# 78 Q:

And you said, when you first got on the stand, you thought you got there around 3:00. And, in fact, the log shows -- do you know what time the log shows you got there?

# 79 A:

I think somebody told me 3:10.

# 80 Q:

Okay.

# 81 MR. GELBLUM:

Back it out a little bit so you can see the times.

Okay.

# 82 Q:

(BY MR. GELBLUM) Is that your name, Mr. Ford?

# 83 A:

Yes, sir.

# 84 Q:

And Atkins is your boss. And you came and went with him?

# 85 A:

Yes, sir.

# 86 Q:

And that shows you got there at 3:10 on the log. It shows 1630 as departure?

# 87 A:

Yes.

# 88 Q:

Okay.

Now, there was a Detective Haro and Detective Harbor (phonetic) there, as well, correct?

# 89 A:

Yes.

# 90 Q:

And you actually told us something about Detective Haro. You know who he is?

# 91 A:

Yes.

# 92 Q:

Did you leave with them?

# 93 A:

I don't recall.

# 94 Q:

Did you see them leaving with you?

# 95 A:

No.

# 96 Q:

At the same time as you?

# 97 A:

No.

# 98 Q:

You see anything on the log they left exactly the same time as you did, 1630?

# 99 A:

Yes.

# 100 Q:

But you didn't leave with them, right?

# 101 A:

No. We were parked up on the hill, so I walked one way, they might have walked another.

KEY QUOTE

# 102 Q:

You didn't see them walking out?

# 103 A:

No.

# 104 Q:

As far as you know, this log could go -- it could be off 10, 15 minutes?

# 105 A:

No.

# 106 MR. BAKER:

Objection.

# 107 THE COURT:

Sustained.

# 108 Q:

(BY MR. GELBLUM) Are you friends with Dennis Fung or Andrea Mazzola?

# 109 A:

Not friends, coworkers.

# 110 MR. GELBLUM:

I have nothing further, Your Honor.

REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. P. BAKER:

Temperature

procedural

Key Quotes (3)

Willie Ford

That, in fact, was your role there that day, was to film after the evidence had been collected, right? Yes, sir.

Establishes Ford's post-collection filming role, directly countering the defense implication that no socks in his video means they were planted afterward.

Willie Ford

You're basing it entirely on the crime-scene log; is that correct? Yes, sir.

Ford admits he has no independent recollection of timing — his testimony about when he was there depends entirely on a log he didn't fill out.

Willie Ford

We were parked up on the hill, so I walked one way, they might have walked another.

Explains why Detectives Haro and Harbor share his 1630 departure time on the log despite him not seeing them leave — undermining the log's precision as evidence.

Evidence (2)

Plaintiffs' Exhibit 200

Rockingham Crime-Scene Log showing Ford's arrival at 3:10 and departure at 1630

displayed on Elmo screen, used to confirm timing

728

Photograph of the socks (presumably with numbered ID card)

attempted introduction; blocked by sustained objection before witness could view it

Notable Exchanges (2)

Peter Gelblum•Hiroshi Fujisaki

Gelblum pushed back after being shut down on sock photograph questions, arguing Ford himself said he does photography. Fujisaki held firm but allowed a few more questions after Gelblum's plea for indulgence.

tense/strategic

Peter Gelblum•Willie Ford

Gelblum methodically used Ford's own stated role — film after collection — to argue the absence of socks in the video means they were already collected, not planted.

strategic

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Willie Ford

reliance on third-party record

Gelblum highlighted that Ford has no independent memory of his timing and relies entirely on a crime-scene log he did not fill out and did not watch being filled out.

Objections

4 objections (4 sustained, 0 overruled)

Proceeding 8593 • 110 utterances • Plaintiff witness

Civil Trial

Department 103