Cross-examination of John Edwards (part 3)

📄 Cross-examination of John Edwards (part 3) — Tuesday, January 31, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JAN\31\CROSS-EXAMINATION-OF-JOHN-EDWA.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 9 of 167

◀ Cross-examination of John Edwards (part 2) Sidebar: cross-examination issue ▶

Witness: Det. John Edwards
Examiner: Johnnie Cochran
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Tuesday, January 31, 1995 • Utterances: 132

Johnnie Cochran cross-examines Detective Edwards about the 1989 domestic violence incident at the Simpson residence. Cochran challenges the detective's reliance on memory rather than written records, questions the police procedure of letting a potentially armed suspect go back inside to dress before arrest, and probes inconsistencies in the account of OJ's departure speed in the Bentley.

# 1 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: AND DID YOU FIND OUT WHAT TIME THEY CAME HOME FROM THAT PARTY?

# 2 MR. DARDEN:

YOUR HONOR, THIS CALLS FOR HEARSAY.

# 3 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 4 DET. JOHN EDWARDS:

NO.

# 5 Q:

BY MR. COCHRAN: THIS PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT NOW, AT WHAT POINT DID YOU HAVE THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT THE PARTY AND WHAT HAPPENED EARLIER?

# 6 A:

AT THE STATION.

# 7 Q:

AT WEST LOS ANGELES STATION?

# 8 A:

YES.

# 9 Q:

IS THAT WRITTEN DOWN ANYWHERE?

# 10 A:

NO.

# 11 Q:

SO YOU JUST HAVE AN INDEPENDENT RECOLLECTION OF THAT SIX YEARS LATER?

# 12 A:

YES.

# 13 Q:

NOW, WHEN YOU ASKED MISS NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON WHETHER OR NOT SHE WANTED TO BE TAKEN FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT, IS IT MY UNDERSTANDING SHE INDICATED TO YOU THAT SHE WOULD SEEK HER OWN MEDICAL TREATMENT; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 14 A:

THAT IS CORRECT.

# 15 Q:

YOU DESCRIBED FOR US THAT YOU WERE JUST RECENTLY ASSIGNED TO THE WEST LOS ANGELES AREA PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 16 A:

THAT IS CORRECT.

# 17 Q:

AND YOU HAD NEVER BEEN TO THAT RESIDENCE BEFORE, RIGHT?

# 18 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 19 Q:

YOU NEVER KNEW EITHER OF THESE PARTIES BEFORE THIS TIME, RIGHT?

# 20 A:

THAT IS CORRECT.

# 21 Q:

YOU NEVER HAD A CONVERSATION WITH MR. O.J. SIMPSON BEFORE THIS, RIGHT?

# 22 A:

THAT IS CORRECT.

# 23 Q:

YOU HAD NEVER SEEN HIM WHEN HE WAS ANGRY, IF HE WAS EVER ANGRY, HAD YOU?

# 24 A:

NO, I HAD NEVER SEEN HIM ANGRY AT ALL.

# 25 Q:

YOU HAD NEVER SEEN HIM HAPPY BEFORE?

# 26 A:

I WOULD SEE HIM ON TELEVISION, IN FOOTBALL GAMES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

# 27 Q:

WELL, I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT ON TELEVISION. I'M TALKING ABOUT IN PERSON, OFFICER. YOU HAD NEVER SEEN HIM AT A TIME IN PERSON WHEN HE WAS EITHER HAPPY OR SAD?

# 28 A:

I HAD NEVER MET HIM BEFORE.

# 29 Q:

ALL RIGHT. SO WITH REGARD TO ALL OF YOUR OBSERVATIONS ABOUT HIM BEING ANGRY OR HOSTILE OR WHATEVER, YOU HAD NEVER TALKED TO HIM BEFORE THIS PARTICULAR NIGHT, RIGHT?

# 30 A:

I NEVER TALKED TO HIM, BUT I WOULD SEE HIM ON TELEVISION AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

# 31 Q:

YOU NEVER TALKED TO HIM IN PERSON, OFFICER, BEFORE THAT NIGHT, RIGHT?

# 32 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 33 Q:

YOU INDICATED THAT AT SOME POINT MR. SIMPSON SAID THAT THE POLICE HAD BEEN OUT THERE EIGHT TIMES BEFORE AND HADN'T DONE ANYTHING. DID YOU EVER HAVE OCCASION TO CHECK TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT IN THE LOGS OF WEST LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT THERE WERE EIGHT PREVIOUS CONTACTS, WRITTEN CONTACTS, FROM WEST LOS ANGELES TO THAT PARTICULAR RESIDENCE ON ROCKINGHAM?

# 34 A:

NO. I JUST TOOK HIS WORD FOR IT.

KEY QUOTE

# 35 Q:

DID YOU JUST ANSWER MY QUESTION? DID YOU EVER CHECK THAT, SIR?

# 36 A:

NO. I TOOK HIS WORD FOR IT. I NEVER CHECKED.

# 37 Q:

YOU DIDN'T CHECK AND TO THIS DATE YOU STILL DIDN'T CHECKED, RIGHT?

# 38 A:

TO THIS DATE I HAVEN'T CHECKED.

# 39 Q:

IF OFFICERS FROM WEST LOS ANGELES STATION WOULD COME OUT ON A SOCIAL CALL TO STOP BY AND TALK FOOTBALL OR WHATEVER, THERE WOULDN'T BE A RECORD OF THAT, WOULD THERE?

# 40 A:

I DON'T KNOW.

# 41 Q:

WELL, IF AN OFFICER FROM THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT ASSIGNED TO WEST LOS ANGELES STOPPED BY ROCKINGHAM, SAW O.J. SIMPSON AND JUST STOPPED BY AND TALKED FOOTBALL WHEN THEY SAW HIM OUTSIDE, LET'S SAY, YOU WOULDN'T WRITE THAT DOWN, WOULD YOU, NORMALLY?

# 42 A:

I DON'T KNOW. I HAVE NEVER DONE IT. I WOULDN'T KNOW.

# 43 Q:

ARE YOU A DETECTIVE NOW, LAPD?

# 44 A:

YES.

# 45 Q:

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A POLICE OFFICER?

# 46 A:

24 AND A HALF YEARS.

# 47 Q:

SO YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROCEDURES, DON'T YOU?

# 48 A:

YES.

# 49 Q:

AND SOMEPLACE SOMETIME IN 24 YEARS YOU HAVE WORKED IN AN AREA WHERE YOU'VE HAD SOME FRIENDLY ENCOUNTER WITH SOMEBODY IN YOUR PARTICULAR BEAT AREA. AS A MATTER OF PROCEDURE AND YOUR TRAINING DID YOU AT THAT TIME HAVE OCCASION AND WERE YOU REQUIRED BY YOUR TRAINING TO WRITE THAT DOWN?

# 50 MR. DARDEN:

I WOULD OBJECT TO THIS QUESTION. IT IS COMPOUND AND IT IS CONFUSING AND MR. COCHRAN HAS BECOME A WITNESS. HE IS TESTIFYING.

# 51 THE COURT:

OVERRULED. OVERRULED. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION?

# 52 DET. JOHN EDWARDS:

I THINK SO.

# 53 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU.

# 54 Q:

TRY TO ANSWER, PLEASE, SIR.

# 55 A:

THERE WOULD BE A COUPLE OF WAYS TO LOG SOMETHING LIKE THAT. YOU JUST DROP BY SOMEONE'S HOUSE, EITHER GOING TO CODE 7, THAT MEANS TO EAT, YOU WOULD BE TAKING YOUR CODE 7 TIME OR YOUR EATING TIME TO VISIT THAT PERSON AND YOU MAY LOG IT AT THAT ADDRESS, OR AS AN OFFICER CALL, YOU WOULD LOG IT WHENEVER YOU WENT TO A BUSINESS OR A PERSON'S HOUSE FOR ANY REASON LIKE THAT.

# 56 Q:

ANY OTHER WAYS THAT YOU MIGHT JUST STOP BY AND NOT LOG IT?

# 57 A:

I WOULD IMAGINE.

# 58 Q:

ALL RIGHT. NOW, WHEN YOU TALKED TO MR. SIMPSON, AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE DESCRIBED FOR US THAT HE HAD ON SOME SHORTS AND A ROBE AND YOU AT SOME POINT, AFTER TALKING WITH HIS WIFE, MADE A JUDGMENT THAT YOU WERE GOING TO PLACE HIM UNDER ARREST; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 59 A:

THAT IS CORRECT.

# 60 Q:

OKAY. NOW, AT THAT TIME HAD YOU SPOKEN WITH THIS LADY MICHELLE ABUDRAHM?

# 61 A:

NO.

# 62 Q:

ALL RIGHT. NOW, AT THAT TIME DID YOU TALK TO MR. SIMPSON ABOUT WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HAPPENED?

# 63 A:

NO.

# 64 Q:

ALL RIGHT. BUT YOU MADE THE JUDGMENT HE WAS GOING TO BE PLACED UNDER ARREST AND YOU THEN TOLD HIM TO GO BACK IN THE HOUSE AND GET DRESSED, RIGHT?

# 65 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 66 Q:

IS THAT NORMAL POLICE PROCEDURES?

# 67 A:

FOR 273.5 --

# 68 Q:

YES.

# 69 A:

-- PENAL CODE ARRESTS? EXACTLY.

# 70 Q:

YOU JUST TELL HIM TO GO IN, PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON AND COME BACK OUT HERE, RIGHT?

# 71 A:

NO, I WAS GOING TO PLACE HIM UNDER ARREST.

# 72 Q:

THE PROCEDURE. THE QUESTION WAS IS THAT NORMAL PROCEDURE, FOR YOU TO STAND ON ONE SIDE OF THE FENCE AND SAY, "I WANT YOU TO GO IN THE HOUSE, PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON AND COME BACK OUT HERE SO I CAN ARREST YOU"? IS THAT NORMAL PROCEDURE?

# 73 A:

IT WAS A TACTICAL DECISION I HAD TO MAKE WITH JUST MY PARTNER, MYSELF AND AN INJURED VICTIM IN THE BACKSEAT.

KEY QUOTE

# 74 Q:

SO THAT WAS YOUR TACTICAL DECISION. NOW, YOUR TACTICAL DECISION WAS YOU WERE GOING TO DO THAT EVEN AFTER YOU WERE TOLD MR. SIMPSON HAD LOTS OF GUNS. HE WAS GOING TO GO IN THE HOUSE AND GET DRESSED AND YOU WERE STANDING OUT THERE AND WAITING?

KEY QUOTE

# 75 A:

EXACTLY.

# 76 Q:

AT THIS TIME HAD YOU TOLD ANYBODY TO CALL SERGEANT VINGER FOR BACK-UP?

# 77 A:

YES.

# 78 Q:

HE ARRIVED AT SOME POINT SHORTLY THEREAFTER?

# 79 A:

YES.

# 80 Q:

SERGEANTS TRAVEL IN VEHICLES BY THEMSELVES? HE IS A ONE-PERSON CAR; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 81 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 82 Q:

SO HE THEN CAME BACK OUT, RIGHT?

# 83 A:

RIGHT.

# 84 Q:

NOW, AS I UNDERSTAND YOUR TESTIMONY, YOUR TESTIMONY THAT MR. SIMPSON LEFT OUT OF ONE OF THE GATES OF THIS PLACE AT 45 MILES PER HOUR?

# 85 A:

HE WENT SOUTHBOUND ON ROCKINGHAM AT ABOUT 45 MILES AN HOUR, AS SOON AS HE LEFT THE GATE.

# 86 Q:

WHAT SPEED WAS HE TRAVELING WHEN HE GOT OUTSIDE THE GATE?

# 87 A:

I DON'T KNOW. HE WENT BY PRETTY FAST. I DIDN'T GET A REAL GOOD LOOK AT THE CAR. I WOULD SAY PROBABLY 15 TO 25 MILES AN HOUR.

# 88 Q:

HAVE YOU EVER DRIVEN A BENTLEY BEFORE?

# 89 A:

NO. I HAVE CHASED THEM.

KEY QUOTE

# 90 Q:

SO NOW LET'S SEE. YOU HAVE CHASED ONE, BUT YOU HAVEN'T DRIVEN ONE, RIGHT?

# 91 A:

RIGHT.

# 92 Q:

IT IS YOUR TESTIMONY THAT AS HE GOT OUTSIDE THE GATE THE BENTLEY WAS TRAVELING ON THE WAY OUTSIDE THE GATE 15 MILES PER HOUR?

# 93 A:

RIGHT.

# 94 Q:

THEN IT SOON GOT TO 45?

# 95 A:

RIGHT.

# 96 Q:

DID YOU AND SERGEANT VINGER BOTH GO IN PURSUIT?

# 97 A:

RIGHT.

# 98 Q:

DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMUNICATIONS SO THERE WERE OTHER VEHICLES IN THIS PURSUIT AT ALL?

# 99 A:

WE SWITCHED TO SIMPLEX WHICH IS INTERNAL CAR-TO-CAR FREQUENCY AND WE BROADCAST THAT ON SIMPLEX.

# 100 Q:

ALL RIGHT. WERE THERE ANY OTHER VEHICLES INVOLVED IN THIS SO-CALLED PURSUIT, SIR?

# 101 A:

I THINK A TOTAL OF FIVE SEARCHING THE AREA ULTIMATELY, BUT I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS DIRECTLY TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH HIM.

# 102 Q:

YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE SUPPOSEDLY FOLLOWING THE BENTLEY; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 103 A:

RIGHT. EVERYBODY WAS FANNING OUT THROUGH -- THERE IS MULTIPLE SIDE STREETS AND WE WERE CHECKING THE SIDE STREETS.

# 104 Q:

NOW, AFTER THIS INCIDENT YOU DESCRIBED FOR US THAT YOU MAY HAVE STAYED THERE EIGHT TO TEN MINUTES, YOU WENT TO WEST LOS ANGELES STATION, RIGHT?

# 105 A:

WELL, WE ENDED UP DOWN AROUND BUNDY AND WILSHIRE IN AN ATTEMPT AND FROM THERE WE WENT TO WEST LOS ANGELES STATION.

# 106 Q:

ALL RIGHT. AND MISS NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON WAS IN THE VEHICLE WITH YOU?

# 107 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 108 Q:

ALL RIGHT. SO ULTIMATELY YOU GOT TO WEST LOS ANGELES STATION?

# 109 A:

THAT'S CORRECT.

# 110 Q:

WHAT TIME WAS THAT?

# 111 A:

I DON'T KNOW. UMM, I WOULD GUESS SOMEWHERE AROUND FIVE O'CLOCK OR BEFORE 5:00.

# 112 Q:

FIVE O'CLOCK A.M. THEREABOUTS?

# 113 A:

RIGHT.

# 114 Q:

ALL RIGHT. HOW LONG DID YOU STAY AT THE STATION?

# 115 A:

JUST LONG ENOUGH TO GET THE CAMERA, TAKE THE THREE PHOTOGRAPHS, HAVE HER GO IN THE BATHROOM AND COME OUT.

# 116 Q:

ALL RIGHT. COULD YOU ANSWER THIS QUESTION: HOW LONG DID YOU STAY AT THE STATION? CAN YOU TELL US THAT IN MINUTES, OFFICER?

# 117 A:

I WOULD SAY ABOUT EIGHT TO TEN MINUTES.

# 118 Q:

AND THEN YOU THEN -- WAS YOUR PARTNER STILL WITH YOU AT THIS POINT?

# 119 A:

YES.

# 120 Q:

THE TWO OF YOU THEN DROVE MISS SIMPSON BACK TO THE RESIDENCE OF ROCKINGHAM?

# 121 A:

THAT IS CORRECT.

# 122 Q:

THAT IS WHEN YOU DROPPED HER OFF?

# 123 A:

YES.

# 124 Q:

AND DID YOU STAY ANY TIME THERE OTHER THAN TO DROP HER OFF AND THEN YOU LEFT AGAIN; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 125 A:

WE JUST LEFT.

# 126 Q:

DID YOU EVER SEE ANY CHILDREN IN OR ABOUT THAT RESIDENCE THAT NIGHT?

# 127 A:

NO.

# 128 Q:

DID YOU HAVE OCCASION TO HAVE A FURTHER CONVERSATION WITH MR. SIMPSON THAT YOU HAVEN'T TOLD US ABOUT THUS FAR WHERE HE DESCRIBED TO YOU --

# 129 MR. DARDEN:

OBJECTION, THIS CALLS FOR HEARSAY.

# 130 MR. COCHRAN:

MAY I FINISH THE QUESTION, YOUR HONOR?

# 131 MR. DARDEN:

THE FORM OF THE QUESTION CALLS FOR HEARSAY.

# 132 MR. COCHRAN:

MAY I FINISH THE QUESTION, YOUR HONOR?

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Detective Edwards

NO. I JUST TOOK HIS WORD FOR IT.

Edwards admits he never verified OJ's claim that police had been called to Rockingham eight times before — undermining the narrative of a documented pattern of abuse.

Detective Edwards

IT WAS A TACTICAL DECISION I HAD TO MAKE WITH JUST MY PARTNER, MYSELF AND AN INJURED VICTIM IN THE BACKSEAT.

Edwards defends the unusual procedure of telling a suspect to go inside (where guns were present) to get dressed before arrest — Cochran frames this as reckless and procedurally abnormal.

Johnnie Cochran

SO THAT WAS YOUR TACTICAL DECISION. NOW, YOUR TACTICAL DECISION WAS YOU WERE GOING TO DO THAT EVEN AFTER YOU WERE TOLD MR. SIMPSON HAD LOTS OF GUNS.

Cochran uses the detective's own language to highlight the apparent contradiction in the arrest procedure.

Detective Edwards

NO. I HAVE CHASED THEM.

A rare light moment — Edwards admits he's chased but never driven a Bentley, helping Cochran set up questions about the reliability of his speed estimate.

Evidence (2)

Informal

Three photographs of Nicole Brown Simpson taken at West Los Angeles Station

discussed

Informal

LAPD West Los Angeles Station logs / dispatch records for prior contacts at Rockingham

challenged — Edwards admits he never checked them

Notable Exchanges (3)

Johnnie Cochran•Detective Edwards

Cochran presses Edwards on the claim that OJ said police had been to Rockingham eight times before, revealing Edwards never checked the logs and simply took OJ's word for it.

strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Detective Edwards

Cochran methodically questions the wisdom of telling a suspect — one reported to have guns — to go back inside an unsecured residence to dress before arrest. Edwards defends it as a 'tactical decision.'

probing

Johnnie Cochran•Detective Edwards

Cochran exposes an inconsistency in Edwards's speed estimate: he first said 45 mph when OJ left the gate, then revised to 15-25 mph when pressed, then confirmed it rose to 45 mph southbound on Rockingham.

revealing

Light Moments (1)

Detective Edwards

Asked if he had ever driven a Bentley, Edwards deadpanned 'No. I have chased them.' Cochran immediately turned it back to the cross.

Credibility Attacks (4)

⚔ Detective Edwards

omission / failure to verify

Cochran establishes that Edwards never checked LAPD logs to verify OJ's claim of eight prior police contacts, relying solely on OJ's own statement six years earlier with no written record.

⚔ Detective Edwards

prior inconsistent statement / memory reliability

Cochran highlights that the conversation about the party was not written down anywhere, and Edwards claims independent recollection of it six years later.

⚔ Detective Edwards

questionable procedure

Cochran challenges the decision to send a suspect reported to have guns back inside an unsecured house to dress before arrest, framing it as a departure from normal procedure.

⚔ Detective Edwards

internal inconsistency

Edwards gives two different speed estimates for the Bentley leaving the gate (45 mph initially, then revised to 15-25 mph), undermining the precision of his observations.

Objections

3 objections (0 sustained, 2 overruled)

Proceeding 4572 • 132 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103