Re-redirect examination of Ronald Shipp (part 1)

📄 Re-redirect examination of Ronald Shipp (part 1) — Thursday, February 2, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\FEB\2\RE-REDIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-RON.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 11 of 167

◀ Redirect examination of Ronald Shipp (part 2) Sidebar: Angela Spilker impeachment ▶

Witness: Ron Shipp
Examiner: Christopher Darden
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Thursday, February 2, 1995 • Utterances: 108

Defense attorney Carl Douglas recrosses Ronald Shipp, pressing him on his drunken behavior (drunk driving, showing up at Cathy Randa's house at 1am), his misuse of police resources to run license plates for Nicole Brown Simpson, and his claims about the nature of his friendship with O.J. Simpson. Douglas attempts to undercut Shipp's credibility by showing he did in fact ask Simpson for favors, and challenges his account of Angela Spilker before Darden objects that the line of questioning is beyond redirect.

# 1

BY MR. DOUGLAS:

# 2 Q:

MR. SHIPP, WERE YOU TOLD IN THE ACADEMY THAT IT WAS PROPER TO MISLEAD A PENDING INVESTIGATION OF MURDER CHARGES?

# 3 A:

AS A POLICE OFFICER?

# 4 Q:

CORRECT?

# 5 A:

OF COURSE, YEAH, I WAS TOLD THAT.

# 6 Q:

THAT IT IS PROPER TO MISLEAD?

# 7 A:

NO, THAT YOU SHOULDN'T, RIGHT.

# 8 Q:

WERE YOU TOLD IN THE ACADEMY THAT IT WAS PROPER FOR A WITNESS TO AN INCIDENT TO LIE TO INVESTIGATORS WHO WERE INVESTIGATING AN INCIDENT?

# 9 A:

NO, I WAS NOT TOLD TO DO THAT.

# 10 Q:

NOW, YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU MADE A FOOL OF YOURSELF AT MR. SIMPSON'S WEDDING RECEPTION, DIDN'T YOU?

# 11 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 12 Q:

AND YOU MADE A FOOL OF YOURSELF AFTER YOU GOT DRUNK, DIDN'T YOU?

# 13 A:

WELL, TO ME. I MEAN, THERE IS NOBODY ELSE THAT CAN ACTUALLY -- TO ME -- I MEAN, I WAS SLURRING MY WORDS. TO ME THAT IS MAKING A FOOL OUT OF YOURSELF. NO ONE SAID, HEY, GET THIS BUM OUT OF HERE.

# 14 Q:

ONCE YOU GOT DRUNK DIDN'T YOU BEGIN MAKING MORE OF A FOOL OF YOURSELF WITH YOUR CONDUCT?

# 15 A:

AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED.

# 16 Q:

DID YOU?

# 17 A:

WHENEVER -- IF I WAS DRUNK AND I WAS NOT ABLE TO SPEAK LIKE I WOULD SPEAK WHEN I'M SOBER, AND I KNOW THAT I'M SLURRING, TO ME THAT IS EMBARRASSING.

# 18 Q:

WELL, AT MR. SIMPSON'S WEDDING RECEPTION ISN'T IT TRUE THAT YOU GOT DRUNK AND GOT INTO AN ARGUMENT AND FIGHT WITH ONE OF THE OTHER GUESTS THAT WERE THERE?

# 19 A:

ONE OF THE GUESTS?

# 20 Q:

YES.

# 21 A:

NO, I DID NOT. THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT BY "FOOL."

# 22 Q:

NOW, YOU ALSO SAID THAT WHEN YOU GOT DRUNK THIS PAST YEAR YOU WENT OVER TO MISS RANDA'S HOUSE AT ONE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING TO SAY, "WHOOPS, HERE I AM"?

# 23 A:

CORRECT.

# 24 Q:

DID YOU THINK THAT YOU WANTED -- WITHDRAWN. DID YOU THINK THAT MISS RANDA WANTED TO SEE YOU IN ALL OF YOUR DRUNKEN GLORY AT ONE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING OUTSIDE OF HER HOME UNANNOUNCED?

# 25 A:

WELL, I THOUGHT I HAD DONE SO MANY FAVORS FOR O.J. AND ALL HIS FRIENDS AND I WAS CLOSE TO CATHY, THAT IT WOULDN'T -- SHE WOULD UNDERSTAND HERSELF, OKAY, HAVING A PROBLEM, WHICH SHE HAD UNDERSTOOD SO MANY TIMES BEFORE.

# 26 Q:

SO YOU WANTED HER TO SEE YOU IN ALL OF YOUR DRUNKEN GLORY?

# 27 A:

YES, I DID.

# 28 Q:

AND WERE YOU TOO DRUNK TO CALL HER ON THE TELEPHONE AND SAY THAT YOU ARE COMING OVER SO THAT YOU CAN SEAMY IN ALL OF MY DRUNKEN GLORY?

# 29 A:

NO, I WAS NOT.

# 30 Q:

DID YOU DRIVE OVER THERE DRUNK?

# 31 A:

DID I DRIVE OVER THERE? YES, I DID. I WAS DRUNK.

# 32 Q:

THAT WASN'T VERY SMART, WAS IT?

# 33 A:

IT WAS BAD.

# 34 Q:

DID YOU DRIVE HOME AFTER LEAVING HER HOUSE AT 1:00 IN THE MORNING DRUNK?

# 35 A:

YES, I DID.

# 36 Q:

THAT WASN'T VERY SMART EITHER, WAS IT?

# 37 A:

NO, IT IS NOT. I'M NOT PROUD OF IT. I TOLD YOU I'M NOT PERFECT, MR. DOUGLAS.

KEY QUOTE

# 38 Q:

THAT'S THE QUESTION. THANK YOU, SIR. ISN'T IT TRUE, SIR, THAT SOME OF THE POLICE FAVORS THAT YOU PERFORMED WERE PERFORMED FOR MRS. SIMPSON, CORRECT?

# 39 A:

QUITE A BIT, THAT'S TRUE.

# 40 Q:

YOU RAN A LICENSE PLATE AT MRS. SIMPSON'S REQUEST, DIDN'T YOU?

# 41 A:

ALSO, YES, I DID.

# 42 Q:

NOT FOR MR. SIMPSON?

# 43 A:

YES, I DID.

# 44 Q:

DIDN'T SHE WANT YOU TO HELP HER TO REMOVE SOME TENANTS OUT OF AN APARTMENT THAT SHE OWNED IN THE SOUTH BAY?

# 45 A:

YES, SHE DID.

# 46 Q:

AND YOU THEN RAN A LICENSE PLATE FOR HER UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, DIDN'T YOU?

# 47 A:

THAT WAS NOT THE ONLY TIME I RAN A LICENSE. I HAVE RAN LICENSE PLATES QUITE A BIT WHEN THEY HAD PEOPLE COMING OVER THE HOUSE THAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHO WAS HANGING AROUND. "SHIPP, WOULD YOU CHECK THIS OUT, PLEASE."

# 48 Q:

WERE YOU VIOLATING ANY OFFICIAL RULES OR PROCEDURES OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT BY RUNNING A LICENSE PLATE FOR A PERSONAL FRIEND?

# 49 A:

YES, I WAS.

# 50 Q:

NOW, ISN'T IT TRUE, SIR, THAT THE BROWN FAMILY WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ARRANGING FOR SECURITY AT NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON'S FUNERAL?

# 51 A:

I WAS CONTACTED BY CATHY ORIGINALLY, NOT THE BROWNS.

# 52 Q:

THE OCCASION THAT YOU COULD THINK OF, THE ONLY OCCASION THAT YOU COULD THINK OF IN YOUR 26-YEAR FRIENDSHIP WITH MR. SIMPSON WHEN YOU AND HE ATE TOGETHER WAS ON THE SET OF NAKED GUN 2 AND 1/2, CORRECT?

# 53 A:

THAT'S ONE.

# 54 Q:

AND THAT WAS A MEAL THAT TOOK PLACE DURING A CASTING BREAK, DIDN'T IT?

# 55 A:

YES, IT DID.

# 56 Q:

AND THERE WERE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CAST THAT WERE ALSO SITTING AROUND ENJOYING THE MEAL, WASN'T THERE?

# 57 A:

OUR LUNCH WAS ISOLATED, IT WAS JUST HE AND I, AND THEN THERE WAS TWO PEOPLE THAT CAME TO GET SOME FOOTBALLS SIGNED, SOME ALUMNI FROM USC THAT JOINED US, BUT ORIGINALLY IT WAS JUST HE AND I.

# 58 Q:

NOW, YOU MENTIONED THAT IN 1989 YOU ATTEMPTED TO ARRANGE FOR THE CHARGES AGAINST MR. SIMPSON TO BE SIGNED OFF ON, CORRECT?

# 59 A:

YES, I DID.

# 60 Q:

IN 1989 YOU HAD WORKED AS AN INSTRUCTOR AT THE ACADEMY?

# 61 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 62 Q:

YOU WERE AN INSTRUCTOR WORKING AND TEACHING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DID YOU NOT?

# 63 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 64 Q:

YOU WERE AWARE IN 1989 THAT WHENEVER ALLEGATIONS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE WERE FILED AND THERE WAS SOME INDEPENDENT CORROBORATION, THAT THE CHARGES HAD TO BE BROUGHT FORMALLY, CORRECT?

# 65 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 66 Q:

SO YOU KNEW IN 1989 THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT YOU COULD PERSONALLY DO TO OBVIATE THE FILING OF CHARGES, TRUE?

# 67 A:

THAT IS WHAT I BELIEVED.

# 68 Q:

NOW, YOU SAID EARLIER TO MR. DARDEN THAT YOU HAD NEVER ASKED MR. SIMPSON FOR ANYTHING. DO YOU REMEMBER SAYING THAT?

# 69 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 70 Q:

YOU DID ASK ON OCCASION TO PLAY TENNIS ON HIS TENNIS COURT, TRUE?

# 71 A:

YES, THAT'S TRUE.

# 72 Q:

AND WHEN YOU WERE AT HIS HOME IN THE DARK WITH THE BLOND WHO WASN'T YOUR WIFE WHO IS HERE IN COURT, YOU DID ASK THAT HE BRING YOU A BOTTLE OF WINE, DIDN'T YOU?

# 73 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 74 Q:

AND DID SHE DRINK THE WINE BY HERSELF?

# 75 A:

NO.

# 76 Q:

OR DID YOU?

# 77 A:

WE DRANK IT. O.J. CAME OUT AND STAYED WITH US BECAUSE HE THOUGHT SHE WAS REAL ATTRACTIVE.

KEY QUOTE

# 78 Q:

WASN'T O.J. LIVING HIS OWN LIFE AT THE TIME THAT YOU CAME BY UNANNOUNCED AND ASKED TO USE THE JACUZZI?

# 79 A:

CAN I ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS? I DIDN'T COME BY UNANNOUNCED. I WAS THERE. HE'S FORGETTING. I WAS THERE -- WE GOT THERE AT SEVEN O'CLOCK, PLAYED TENNIS.

# 80 Q:

WHY DON'T YOU LET ME ASK THE QUESTIONS.

# 81 A:

I'M TRYING TO ANSWER. SORRY.

# 82 Q:

OKAY. YOU FIRST CALLED MR. SIMPSON AND HE WAS ON THE PHONE WHEN YOU CALLED, CORRECT?

# 83 A:

OKAY. WELL, I BUZZED HIM, RIGHT.

# 84 Q:

AND YOU ASKED MR. SIMPSON TO USE THE JACUZZI, CORRECT?

# 85 A:

YES. I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN IN HIS JACUZZI.

# 86 Q:

AND HE ASKED YOU WHETHER OR NOT THE JACUZZI WAS STILL ON, DO YOU REMEMBER THAT?

# 87 A:

I THINK YOU ARE CORRECT.

# 88 Q:

AND YOU INFORMED HIM THAT THE JACUZZI WAS ON BECAUSE YOU HAD BEEN THERE EARLIER THAT DAY?

# 89 A:

EARLIER THAT DAY?

# 90 Q:

CORRECT?

# 91 A:

NO, I WASN'T THERE EARLIER THAT DAY. I WAS PLAYING TENNIS AT SEVEN O'CLOCK.

# 92 Q:

SO HE THEN ALLOWED YOU AND YOUR BLOND FRIEND TO USE THE JACUZZI, CORRECT?

# 93 A:

THAT'S TRUE.

# 94 Q:

THEN ABOUT A HALF HOUR LATER YOU CALLED HIM BACK?

# 95 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 96 Q:

AND ASKED FOR THE BOTTLE OF WINE?

# 97 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 98 Q:

AND IT WAS SOMETIME WHILE YOU AND THIS FRIEND OF YOURS WAS IN THE JACUZZI THAT YOU HAPPENED TO SEE HIS DAUGHTER, ARNELLE SIMPSON?

# 99 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 100 Q:

NOW, YOU HAVE SUGGESTED EARLIER THAT YOU HAD ONLY SEEN THIS WOMAN, ANGELA SPILKER, BUT FOR TEN SECONDS ON ONE OCCASION?

# 101 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 102 Q:

THAT IS NOT TRUE, IS IT, SIR?

# 103 A:

IT IS THE GOSPEL TRUTH.

KEY QUOTE

# 104 MR. DARDEN:

I OBJECT, YOUR HONOR. THIS IS BEYOND THE REDIRECT.

# 105 THE COURT:

THAT'S TRUE.

# 106 MR. DOUGLAS:

IF IT IS, YOUR HONOR, I WOULD ALLOW THE COURT TO ALLOW ME TO REOPEN FOR THIS BRIEF AREA WHICH MIGHT BE THE END.

# 107 MR. DARDEN:

IT IS IRRELEVANT, YOUR HONOR.

# 108 THE COURT:

IT IS REAL TANGENTIAL. IT IS REAL TANGENTIAL.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Ronald Shipp

NO, IT IS NOT. I'M NOT PROUD OF IT. I TOLD YOU I'M NOT PERFECT, MR. DOUGLAS.

Shipp concedes to drunk driving twice in one night — undermines his credibility as a responsible witness while also humanizing him.

Ronald Shipp

YES, I WAS VIOLATING ANY OFFICIAL RULES OR PROCEDURES OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT BY RUNNING A LICENSE PLATE FOR A PERSONAL FRIEND.

Shipp admits to LAPD policy violations, which Douglas uses to paint him as someone willing to bend rules — and by extension, possibly fabricate testimony.

Ronald Shipp

IT IS THE GOSPEL TRUTH.

Emphatic denial about Angela Spilker — immediately followed by an objection and judicial skepticism, leaving the claim hanging.

Ronald Shipp

O.J. CAME OUT AND STAYED WITH US BECAUSE HE THOUGHT SHE WAS REAL ATTRACTIVE.

Unprompted detail that colors the relationship between Simpson and Shipp — less a close friendship than a transactional one.

Notable Exchanges (4)

Carl Douglas•Ronald Shipp

Douglas methodically walks Shipp through two drunk driving incidents in a single night — to Cathy Randa's house at 1am, and back home — extracting admissions that each was 'bad' or 'not smart.'

methodical, deflating

Carl Douglas•Ronald Shipp

Douglas challenges Shipp's earlier claim that he 'never asked Simpson for anything,' eliciting admissions that he used the tennis court, requested wine, and used the jacuzzi — all with a blonde woman who was not his wife.

strategic, revealing

Carl Douglas•Ronald Shipp

Shipp tries to interrupt and correct Douglas's framing of the jacuzzi visit ('I didn't come by unannounced. I was there'), and Douglas shuts him down: 'Why don't you let me ask the questions.'

heated

Carl Douglas•Christopher Darden•Lance A. Ito

Douglas presses Shipp on Angela Spilker — Shipp denies knowing her beyond ten seconds. Darden objects as beyond redirect; Ito sustains, calling it 'real tangential' twice. Douglas asks to reopen that area.

procedural, inconclusive

Light Moments (1)

Carl Douglas

Douglas asks if Shipp was 'too drunk to call' Randa before driving over so she could 'see me in all of my drunken glory' — the phrase repeated three times for sardonic effect.

Credibility Attacks (3)

⚔ Ronald Shipp

prior inconsistent statement / bias

Douglas contradicts Shipp's direct testimony claim that he 'never asked Simpson for anything,' getting him to admit to using the tennis court, jacuzzi, and requesting wine — all while bringing a woman who was not his wife.

⚔ Ronald Shipp

character / conduct

Douglas forces Shipp to admit he drove drunk twice in one night, violating LAPD policy by running license plates for friends, and showing up unannounced at Cathy Randa's at 1am.

⚔ Ronald Shipp

impeachment by omission / minimization

Douglas challenges Shipp's claim that he only saw Angela Spilker 'for ten seconds on one occasion,' with Shipp insisting 'it is the gospel truth' — left unresolved when the objection is sustained.

Objections

2 objections (1 sustained, 0 overruled)

Proceeding 4568 • 108 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103