Direct examination of Mark Day

📄 Direct examination of Mark Day — Monday, November 18, 1996

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\NOV\18\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-MARK-DAY.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 17 of 57

◀ Sidebar: 1985 incident evidence Redirect examination of Mark Day ▶

Witness: Mark Day
Examiner: John Kelly
Called by: Plaintiff • Date: Monday, November 18, 1996 • Utterances: 51

Mark Day, an LAPD sergeant and former Westec Security patrol officer, testified about responding to a disturbance at OJ Simpson's 360 North Rockingham residence in 1984 or 1985. He found Nicole Brown Simpson running across the front yard hysterical and crying, a Mercedes with a shattered windshield and dented hood, a baseball bat on the ground, and OJ Simpson coming out and quietly admitting he had lost his temper.

# 1 THE CLERK:

You do solemnly swear that the testimony you may give in the cause now pending before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?

# 2 MARK DAY:

I do.

# 3 THE CLERK:

Please state and spell both your first and your last names for the record.

# 4 MARK DAY:

Mark Day, M-a-r-k D-a-y.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. KELLY:

# 5 Q:

Sir, you're currently employed?

# 6 A:

I'm currently employed with the Police Department as a sergeant assigned to Newton Division.

# 7 Q:

Okay. And how long have you been with the LAPD?

# 8 A:

Nine years.

# 9 Q:

And prior to joining the LAPD, was there a period between 1983 and 1985 you were employed elsewhere?

# 10 A:

Yes, I was.

# 11 Q:

Who were you employed by?

# 12 A:

Westec Security.

# 13 Q:

And what is Westec Security?

# 14 A:

It is a private residential security firm.

# 15 Q:

Okay. What were your duties with Westec when you were with them?

# 16 A:

I worked as a patrol or alarm response officer and as a sergeant for awhile.

# 17 Q:

And during the course of your duties, did you become familiar with the residence of 360 North Rockingham?

# 18 A:

Yes, I did.

# 19 Q:

Okay. And did you have occasion to go there in response to a disturbance at any point in 1984, '85?

# 20 A:

Yes, I did.

# 21 Q:

Okay. And could you tell me, first of all, what happened when you responded there at that time?

# 22 A:

Upon my arrival I came on the property from the north gate and walked -- was walking towards the front door and I was the first person on the scene, and I was met by Nicole Simpson as she came running across the front yard.

# 23 (Counsel displayed exhibit entitled "360 North Rockingham Avenue.")

# 24 Q:

Can you explain Nicole Simpson's appearance to me, and demeanor as she ran across the front yard?

# 25 A:

She was hysterical, she was crying, very upset.

KEY QUOTE

# 26 Q:

And what, if anything, did she say to you at that time?

# 27 MR. LEONARD:

Objection, hearsay.

# 28 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 29 A:

She -- specifically I can't give you a quote, but it was, you know, that she was very upset and that he had lost his temper and that she was afraid.

# 30 Q:

Who had lost their temper?

# 31 A:

Well, she didn't state it, but I later found out it was Mr. Simpson.

KEY QUOTE

# 32 Q:

Okay. And what, if anything, did you observe after Nicole Brown Simpson ran up to you and you had this discussion with her?

# 33 A:

I had her step behind me -- I had another Westec officer that arrived on the scene, and what I observed was there was a Mercedes, like a 350, 450SL, little 2-door coupe that was parked in the driveway, in front of the front door -- that there were several dents in the top hood of the car, the glass was shattered, and then the front hood of the car had several dents in it as well.

# 34 Q:

When you say the glass was shattered, what glass in the car was shattered?

# 35 A:

This would be the front windshield.

# 36 Q:

Was that the entire windshield?

# 37 A:

It was mostly on the driver side.

# 38 Q:

And what, if anything else, did you observe in the immediate vicinity of the car?

# 39 A:

On the ground I observed a baseball bat.

# 40 Q:

And what, if anything, happened after that?

# 41 A:

A moment or two later Mr. Simpson came out the front door and I contacted him and he basically said -- he was very quiet, very -- I want to say demure, and he said that he lost his temper.

# 42 Q:

Okay. And how long did you remain at that scene after that?

# 43 A:

Possibly five minutes, approximately, or so. LAPD officers arrived on the scene. And basically I was just keeping the peace until they arrived, and then I turned it over to the police officers.

# 44 Q:

Now, going back, you indicated when you first came up the driveway that someone you learned to be Nicole Brown Simpson approached you; is that correct?

# 45 A:

That's correct.

# 46 MR. KELLY:

Can you put up 2194.

# 47 Q:

I'd ask you to take a look at that, the photograph on the Elmo, and ask you if you recognize that person?

# 48 A:

Yes, that's Mrs. Nicole Brown Simpson.

# 49 Q:

Is that the person that met you when you first arrived at this time?

# 50 A:

Yes, it was.

# 51 MR. KELLY:

I have no further questions.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (3)

Mark Day

She was hysterical, she was crying, very upset.

Establishes Nicole's emotional state at a documented prior domestic incident, supporting plaintiffs' pattern-of-abuse narrative.

Mark Day

He was very quiet, very -- I want to say demure, and he said that he lost his temper.

OJ Simpson's own admission of losing his temper at the scene, directly linking him to the property damage and Nicole's distress.

Mark Day

She didn't state it, but I later found out it was Mr. Simpson.

Clarifies that Nicole did not name Simpson in the moment, but the identity was established — limiting the hearsay while preserving the substance.

Evidence (2)

Exhibit 2194

Photograph of Nicole Brown Simpson, used to confirm her identity as the woman who met Day at the scene

displayed and identified

Informal

Diagram or photo labeled '360 North Rockingham Avenue,' displayed during testimony

displayed as visual aid

Notable Exchanges (1)

John Kelly•Dan Leonard•Hiroshi Fujisaki

Leonard objected to Nicole's statements to Day as hearsay; Fujisaki overruled, allowing testimony that Nicole said 'he had lost his temper' and that she was afraid.

strategic

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 8302 • 51 utterances • Plaintiff witness

Civil Trial

Department 103