Direct examination of Sharyn Gilbert (part 2)

📄 Direct examination of Sharyn Gilbert (part 2) — Tuesday, January 31, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JAN\31\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-SHARYN-G.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 9 of 167

◀ Sidebar: evidence foundation Cross-examination of Sharyn Gilbert ▶

Witness: Sharon Gilbert
Examiner: Christopher Darden
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Tuesday, January 31, 1995 • Utterances: 119

911 dispatcher Sharyn Gilbert testified about receiving an open-line call at 3:58 AM on January 1, 1989 from 360 North Rockingham. She described hearing a female screaming and what she believed was a slap or strike, and updated her incident report in real time from 'unknown trouble' to 'female being beaten at location,' dispatching units Code 2 High. The 1989 911 audiotape (People's 1) was played in court, corroborating her account.

# 1 (THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD IN OPEN COURT:)

# 2 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, COUNSEL.

# 3 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

# 4 MR. DARDEN:

MAY I PROCEED, YOUR HONOR?

# 5 THE COURT:

YOU MAY.

# 6 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: MISS GILBERT, WHAT IS --

# 7 THE COURT:

HOLD ON. HOLD ON. TAKE IT DOWN.

# 8 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: WHAT IS THE DOCUMENT MARKED PEOPLE'S 2 FOR IDENTIFICATION?

# 9 A:

IT IS TERMED WHAT WE CALL AN INCIDENT FORMAT.

# 10 Q:

HOW IS THAT FORM GENERATED?

# 11 A:

ON MY SCREEN, WHICH IS THE SCREEN DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME, WE HAVE A FORMAT WHICH ALLOWS TO US CREATE AN INCIDENT BY THE COMPUTER BY INSERTING CERTAIN COMMANDS. AND I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A CORRECTION. IT SHOWS THAT I WAS ON CONSOLE 54. ON THE TOP LINE IT SHOWS THE TIME THAT I GOT THE CALL AND THE TOP -- THE TOP EXAMPLE HERE IS MY UPDATE, SO I NEED TO DROP DOWN TO THE BOTTOM. IT SHOWS -- THE TOP LINE SHOWS THE CALL CAME IN AT 3:58 AND IT HAS MY OPERATOR NUMBER. IT SHOWS THE CONSOLE THAT I WAS ON AND THE INCIDENT NUMBER CREATED.

# 12 Q:

NOW, DOES THE -- DOES THE FORM ALSO PROVIDE A SPACE FOR YOU TO ADD COMMENTS?

# 13 A:

YES, IT DOES.

# 14 Q:

AND DID YOU ADD SOME COMMENTS TO THAT FORM IN THIS SITUATION?

# 15 A:

YES, I DID. THAT -- THAT IS WHERE IT SHOWS IN --

# 16 MR. COCHRAN:

ASKED AND ANSWERED, YOUR HONOR.

# 17 THE COURT:

OVERRULED.

# 18 SHARON GILBERT:

IT SHOWS AN UPDATE OF MY INCIDENT IN THE TOP EXAMPLE AND THAT WAS AFTER I ENTERED THE COMMENTS.

# 19 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: OKAY. AND DID YOU ADD THOSE COMMENTS TO THIS FORM?

# 20 A:

YES.

# 21 Q:

AND THE COMMENTS THAT YOU ADDED TO THIS FORM, WERE THESE COMMENTS BASED ON YOUR PERCEPTION, YOUR HEARING?

# 22 A:

YES, IT WAS.

# 23 MR. DARDEN:

MAY I, YOUR HONOR?

# 24 THE COURT:

YOU MAY.

# 25 MR. DARDEN:

ON THE SCREEN, LOOKING AT THE BOTTOM ONE-THIRD PORTION OF THE FORM, AND I'M GOING TO ASK MR. FAIRTLOUGH, CAN YOU ZOOM ME IN CLOSER?

# 26 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, WITH REGARD TO THIS EXHIBIT, THIS EXHIBIT HAS UNDERLINING DIFFERENT ON IT THAN WHAT HAS BEEN MARKED, AS I UNDERSTAND IT. HIGHLIGHTING, RATHER.

# 27 THE COURT:

OVERRULED. SAME DOCUMENT.

# 28 (DISCUSSION HELD OFF THE RECORD BETWEEN THE DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.)

# 29 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: I'M SORRY, MISS GILBERT. WHAT TIME DID YOU SAY YOU RECEIVED THE TELEPHONE CALL?

# 30 A:

3:58.

# 31 Q:

3:58 IN THE MORNING?

# 32 A:

YES.

# 33 Q:

AND DOES THE INCIDENT REPORT INDICATE THE ORIGIN OF THE TELEPHONE CALL?

# 34 A:

NO. IT JUST SHOWS -- I HAVE THE ABILITY TO UPDATE IT AND I HAVE THE ABILITY TO UPDATE THE INCIDENT TYPE WHEN I FIRST GOT THE CALL I HAD IT AS AN UNKNOWN TROUBLE.

# 35 Q:

OKAY. OKAY. SO THE CALL CAME TO YOU, RIGHT?

# 36 A:

RIGHT. IT WAS AN OPEN LINE.

# 37 Q:

OKAY. COULD YOU HEAR ANYTHING OVER THE OPEN LINE?

# 38 A:

NO. AT THE BEGINNING, NO.

# 39 Q:

OKAY. DID THE LINE REMAIN OPEN?

# 40 A:

YES, IT DID.

# 41 Q:

AND WHILE THE LINE WAS OPENED, AT ANY POINT IN TIME COULD YOU HEAR ANYTHING?

# 42 A:

YES, I DID.

# 43 Q:

WHAT DID YOU HEAR?

# 44 A:

AT FIRST I HEARD A FEMALE SCREAMING AND THAT IS WHEN I WENT BACK AND CHANGED MY INCIDENT TYPE FROM AN UNKNOWN TROUBLE TO A SCREAMING WOMAN.

# 45 Q:

OKAY. AND DID YOU HEAR ANYTHING ELSE?

# 46 A:

YES, I DID.

# 47 Q:

WHAT DID YOU HEAR?

# 48 A:

I HEARD SOMEONE BEING HIT.

KEY QUOTE

# 49 Q:

YOU HEARD A NOISE THAT YOU ASSOCIATED WITH SOMEONE BEING HIT?

# 50 A:

YES.

# 51 Q:

AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THAT INFORMATION?

# 52 A:

THAT IS WHEN I WENT BACK AND UPDATED IT TO -- IN THE FACT THAT I HEARD A FEMALE SCREAMING AND THEN I HEARD WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A SLAP. I WENT BACK AND UPDATED IT AS A FEMALE BEING BEATEN AT THE LOCATION, TO GIVE THE RESPONDING OFFICER AN INDICATION OF WHAT WAS GOING ON, THAT IT WAS NO LONGER AN UNKNOWN TROUBLE.

# 53 Q:

IN FACT, YOU INDICATED THAT A FEMALE BEING BEATEN AT LOCATION COULD BE HEARD OVER THE TELEPHONE; IS THAT RIGHT?

# 54 A:

YES.

# 55 Q:

WHAT WAS THE NEXT THING THAT YOU DID AFTER YOU UPDATED THE INCIDENT REPORT?

# 56 A:

I BROUGHT UP THE NECESSARY FREQUENCIES TO BROADCAST IT BUREAU WIDE, AND FOR THE AIR UNIT, TO ASSIGN A UNIT.

# 57 Q:

OKAY. AND DID YOU ASSIGN A UNIT?

# 58 A:

AT THE TIME I DISPATCHED IT EITHER THERE WEREN'T ANY UNITS AVAILABLE OR I DID AN IMMEDIATE DISPATCH AND I JUST BROADCAST IT TO WEST L.A. UNITS.

# 59 Q:

AND IS THERE SOMETHING CALLED A CALL PRIORITY OR A PRIORITY CODE IN TERMS OF DISPATCHING UNITS TO CERTAIN TYPES OF INCIDENTS?

# 60 A:

YES, IT IS. IT IS INDICATED TO THE RIGHT -- FAR RIGHT YOU SEE A "C SLASH P" AND A "2 SLASH H," THAT MEANS CODE 2 HIGH, AND FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT MEANS A HOT SHOT, THAT MEANS IMMEDIATE RESPONSE.

# 61 Q:

YOU MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO THAT THE TELEPHONE LINE WAS LEFT OPEN; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 62 A:

YES.

# 63 Q:

CAN YOU TELL US HOW LONG THAT LINE WAS LEFT OPEN?

# 64 A:

WELL, I ONLY CAN GO BY MY INCIDENT THAT I CREATED THAT THE CALL CAME IN AT 3:58 AND I UPDATED IT AT 4:01, SO I STAYED ON THE LINE AT LEAST THREE TO FOUR MINUTES.

# 65 Q:

OKAY. SO THE LINE WAS OPEN THEN THREE TO FOUR MINUTES?

# 66 A:

YES.

# 67 Q:

AND THE SCREAMS THAT YOU HEARD, YOU SAY THAT THOSE SCREAMS WERE THE SCREAMS OF A WOMAN?

# 68 A:

IT SOUNDED LIKE A FEMALE TO ME.

KEY QUOTE

# 69 Q:

IT DIDN'T SOUND LIKE A MAN?

# 70 A:

NO.

# 71 Q:

COULD YOU TELL WHO WAS BEING HIT OR STRUCK OR SLAPPED?

# 72 MR. COCHRAN:

YOUR HONOR, THAT CALLS FOR SPECULATION. HOW COULD SHE TELL THAT?

# 73 SHARON GILBERT:

NO, I COULDN'T.

# 74 THE COURT:

OVERRULED. SHE INDICATED SHE COULDN'T TELL. THE ANSWER WILL STAND.

# 75 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: ARE 911 CALLS RECORDED BY THE LAPD?

# 76 A:

YES, THEY ARE.

# 77 Q:

AND HAVE YOU LISTENED TO THE 911 CALL YOU RECEIVED AT 3:58 IN THE MORNING ON JANUARY 1, 1989?

# 78 A:

YES, I HAVE.

# 79 Q:

AND WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU LISTENED TO THAT TAPE?

# 80 A:

APPROXIMATELY A WEEK AND A HALF AGO.

# 81 Q:

AND WHEN YOU LISTENED TO THE TAPE A WEEK AND A HALF AGO, COULD YOU HEAR SLAPS OR STRIKES?

# 82 MR. COCHRAN:

MOVE TO STRIKE, YOUR HONOR, AS CONCLUSIONARY IN FORM.

# 83 THE COURT:

OVERRULED. YOU CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION.

# 84 SHARON GILBERT:

I COULD IN REMEMBERING THE CALL. I COULD DETERMINE AFTER THE FIRST SCREAM, THEN I HEARD SOMEONE BEING HIT.

KEY QUOTE

# 85 MR. DARDEN:

OKAY. THANK YOU. WITH THE COURT'S PERMISSION, YOUR HONOR, I WOULD LIKE TO PLAY THE 1989 911 TAPE.

# 86 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT. DO YOU HAVE THAT IDENTIFIED AS AN EXHIBIT?

# 87 MR. DARDEN:

YES. IT HAS BEEN MARKED PEOPLE'S 1.

# 88 THE COURT:

ALL RIGHT.

# 89 (AT 10:11 A.M. PEOPLE'S EXHIBIT 1 FOR IDENTIFICATION, AN AUDIOTAPE, WAS PLAYED.)

# 90 THE COURT:

EXCUSE ME, MR. DARDEN. WHY DON'T YOU STOP THAT AT THIS TIME.

# 91 (AT 10:12 A.M. THE PLAYING OF THE AUDIOTAPE ENDED.)

# 92 Q:

BY MR. DARDEN: MISS GILBERT, IS THAT A TAPE-RECORDING OF THE TELEPHONE CALL YOU RECEIVED AT 3:58 A.M. ON JANUARY 1, 1989?

# 93 A:

YES, IT IS.

# 94 Q:

AND THERE IS MORE TO THE TAPE; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 95 A:

YES.

# 96 Q:

AND WHEN YOU LISTENED TO THE TAPE LAST WEEK, DID YOU HEAR YOUR VOICE ON THE TAPE?

# 97 A:

YES, I DID.

# 98 Q:

YOU TESTIFIED A MOMENT AGO THAT YOU DISPATCHED UNITS TO 360 NORTH ROCKINGHAM?

# 99 A:

YES.

# 100 Q:

OKAY. IS THAT ON THE TAPE?

# 101 A:

YES, IT IS.

# 102 Q:

DID YOU INDICATE THAT YOU DISPATCHED UNITS TO 360 NORTH ROCKINGHAM, APARTMENT B?

# 103 A:

YES, IT IS INDICATED ON THERE.

# 104 Q:

OKAY. COULD YOU EXPLAIN TO US WHY YOU INCLUDED THE APARTMENT B IN THE RECORD?

# 105 A:

WHEN I FIRST CREATED THE INCIDENT I HAD NOT ERASED MY SCREEN PRIOR -- FROM A PRIOR CALL THAT I DETERMINED NOT TO DISPATCH ON AND HAD NOT ERASED THE APARTMENT NUMBER OUT OF THE FIELD. WHEN I WENT BACK AND HIT "ENTER" ON THE COMPUTER, IT ERASED EVERYTHING BUT THE CORRECT LOCATION THAT CAME UP ON THE A AND I, ON THE TELEPHONE CONSOLE.

# 106 Q:

OKAY. NOW, WE HEAR OTHER VOICES, MALE VOICES, AND APPARENTLY OTHER DISPATCHERS IN THIS TAPE; IS THAT CORRECT?

# 107 A:

RIGHT.

# 108 Q:

THOSE OTHER VOICES, THOSE MALE VOICES, THOSE DISPATCHERS, WHERE IS THAT NOISE ORIGINATING FROM?

# 109 A:

FROM PEOPLE SITTING BESIDE ME. THERE IS PEOPLE THAT SIT BEHIND ME. ALSO, I HAD BROUGHT UP THE FREQUENCY TO BROADCAST THE CALL AND YOU ARE HEARING THE OTHER DIVISIONS THAT WERE ON THE AIR BECAUSE IT WAS AN OPEN LINE. AS LONG AS I HAD NOT HIT MY TRANSMIT BUTTON, THEN YOU WILL HEAR ALL THAT.

# 110 Q:

AND THE COMMENTS YOU TYPED ON TO THE INCIDENT REPORT MARKED PEOPLE'S 2 FOR IDENTIFICATION, WHERE YOU INDICATE THAT YOU COULD HEAR A FEMALE BEING BEATEN, AT WHAT POINT IN THIS PROCESS DID YOU TYPE THAT INFORMATION ON TO THE REPORT?

# 111 A:

AFTER I -- AFTER I HAD MADE MY INCIDENT AND MADE IT A SCREAMING WOMAN, AND HEARING IS JUST -- YOU GET EXCITED, YOU HEAR ALL OF IT AT ONE TIME AND I WENT BACK AND TYPED IT IN AFTER THAT, AFTER I HAD CREATED THE INCIDENT.

# 112 Q:

OKAY. THIS IS WHILE THE TELEPHONE LINE IS OPENED?

# 113 A:

YES, I LEFT IT OPENED.

# 114 Q:

SO IT IS DURING THE TELEPHONE CALL THEN THAT YOU TYPED IN THE COMMENT ABOUT YOUR HEARING A WOMAN BEING BEATEN?

# 115 A:

YES.

# 116 Q:

OKAY. DID THE CALLER EVER SPEAK TO YOU DIRECTLY?

# 117 A:

NO.

# 118 MR. DARDEN:

THANK YOU. THAT IS ALL I HAVE.

# 119 MR. COCHRAN:

THANK YOU VERY KINDLY, YOUR HONOR.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Sharyn Gilbert

I HEARD SOMEONE BEING HIT.

Core testimony establishing that Gilbert heard physical violence over the open 911 line from the Rockingham address in 1989.

Sharyn Gilbert

I WENT BACK AND UPDATED IT AS A FEMALE BEING BEATEN AT THE LOCATION, TO GIVE THE RESPONDING OFFICER AN INDICATION OF WHAT WAS GOING ON, THAT IT WAS NO LONGER AN UNKNOWN TROUBLE.

Contemporaneous documentation of domestic violence — Gilbert's real-time update establishes the pattern of abuse at the Rockingham address years before the murders.

Sharyn Gilbert

IT SOUNDED LIKE A FEMALE TO ME.

Gilbert identifies the screaming voice as female, consistent with Nicole Brown Simpson being the victim of the 1989 domestic violence incident.

Sharyn Gilbert

I COULD IN REMEMBERING THE CALL. I COULD DETERMINE AFTER THE FIRST SCREAM, THEN I HEARD SOMEONE BEING HIT.

Confirms her recollection of the sequence of events is consistent with what she documented contemporaneously.

Evidence (2)

People's 1

Audiotape recording of the 911 call received at 3:58 AM, January 1, 1989

Played in court at 10:11 AM; Gilbert confirmed it as the call she received

People's 2

Incident format report generated by Gilbert documenting the call, including her real-time comments about a female being beaten

Displayed and discussed; Cochran raised objection about highlighting on exhibit, overruled

Notable Exchanges (2)

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Cochran objected that asking whether Gilbert could tell who was being hit 'calls for speculation,' but the witness had already answered she couldn't tell — Ito overruled and let the answer stand.

strategic

Johnnie Cochran•Lance A. Ito

Cochran flagged that People's 2 as displayed had highlighting not present on the marked exhibit; Ito overruled, ruling it the same document.

procedural

Objections

4 objections (0 sustained, 4 overruled)

Proceeding 4510 • 119 utterances • Prosecution witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103