Recross-examination of William Thompson

📄 Recross-examination of William Thompson — Tuesday, July 18, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUL\18\RECROSS-EXAMINATION-OF-WILLIAM.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 117 of 167

◀ Redirect examination of William Thompson (part 1) Redirect examination of William Thompson (part 2) ▶

Witness: William Thompson
Examiner: Christopher Darden
Called by: Defense • Date: Tuesday, July 18, 1995 • Utterances: 91

Darden uses recross to hammer the prosecution's narrative that OJ Simpson received extraordinary, preferential treatment during his arrest — no handcuffs, no partition in the transport vehicle, and his defense attorney (Weitzman) physically opening the detective's car door and then embracing Detective Vannatter afterward. Officer Thompson confirms each point, culminating in his statement that he has never seen anyone arrested for murder treated this way, and that it contradicted his academy training.

# 1 THE COURT:

Mr. Darden.

# 2 MR. DARDEN:

Just a couple minutes, your Honor.

RECROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. DARDEN

# 3 MR. DARDEN:

And, officer, normally when you come home from a trip, you don't give your luggage to your criminal Defense attorney either, do you?

# 4 MR. COCHRAN:

We object to the form. It's argumentative.

# 5 THE COURT:

Sustained. Sustained.

# 6 MR. DARDEN:

Officer, you just watched a video again, right?

# 7 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes.

# 8 MR. DARDEN:

Okay. And you saw in the video that Howard Weitzman, the Defendant's attorney, opened the door to Detective Vannatter's vehicle, right?

# 9 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes.

# 10 MR. DARDEN:

Typically when someone's arrested for murder, it's the officer that opens the door, correct?

# 11 MR. COCHRAN:

Object, your Honor. Object to the form of that. It's irrelevant and immaterial as to what happens.

# 12 THE COURT:

Rephrase the question.

# 13 MR. DARDEN:

Well, is that unusual, that is that the criminal Defense attorney would be opening the door to the detective's car as opposed to the detective himself?

# 14 MR. COCHRAN:

Objection.

# 15 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 16 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes, it is unusual.

# 17 MR. DARDEN:

And in this situation, that's exactly what happened, right?

# 18 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes.

# 19 MR. DARDEN:

And then the Defendant climbed into the backseat of that vehicle?

# 20 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes, he did.

# 21 MR. DARDEN:

He didn't seem to have any trouble climbing into the backseat of that vehicle, did he?

# 22 MR. COCHRAN:

Object to the form of that question, your Honor.

# 23 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 24 OFCR. THOMPSON:

No, he didn't.

# 25 MR. DARDEN:

Now, typically--well, strike that. You've arrested people and placed them inside your vehicle before, correct?

# 26 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes, I have.

# 27 MR. DARDEN:

And typically, don't you sort of put your hand on top of their head and help them into the back of the vehicle?

# 28 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes. I make sure they don't hit their head when they enter.

# 29 MR. DARDEN:

Nobody did that in this case, did they?

# 30 OFCR. THOMPSON:

No.

# 31 MR. DARDEN:

Wasn't necessary, was it?

# 32 OFCR. THOMPSON:

No.

# 33 MR. DARDEN:

That's because the Defendant wasn't in handcuffs, right?

# 34 OFCR. THOMPSON:

That's correct.

# 35 MR. DARDEN:

On looking back at that video, after the Defendant was inside Detective Vannatter's car, did you see Detective Vannatter and Mr. Weitzman embrace each other?

# 36 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes, I did.

# 37 MR. DARDEN:

That doesn't happen too often, does it?

# 38 MR. COCHRAN:

Your Honor, I object to the form of that question. Whether Defense lawyers embrace officers is irrelevant and immaterial.

# 39 THE COURT:

Overruled. Overruled. Overruled. It's unusual.

# 40 MR. COCHRAN:

I'll stipulate.

# 41 OFCR. THOMPSON:

I've never seen that ever before.

KEY QUOTE

# 42 MR. DARDEN:

That's exactly what happened in this case, isn't it?

# 43 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes.

# 44 MR. COCHRAN:

The video speaks for itself.

# 45 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 46 MR. DARDEN:

By the way, how long did you remain out at Rockingham that day?

# 47 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Until I would say around 3:00 or 4:00 clock.

# 48 MR. DARDEN:

Okay. Were you there when the Defendant returned home late that afternoon?

# 49 OFCR. THOMPSON:

No, I wasn't.

# 50 MR. DARDEN:

Now, normally when you as a police officer transport someone who's been arrested for murder, don't you transport them in a vehicle that has some type of protection between the front seat and the backseat?

# 51 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Partitioning, yes.

# 52 MR. DARDEN:

And you didn't see that in this car, did you, in Detective Vannatter's car?

# 53 OFCR. THOMPSON:

No.

# 54 MR. DARDEN:

That's not good officer safety when you're in a situation where you're transporting someone under arrest for murder, is it?

# 55 MR. COCHRAN:

Objection. Irrelevant and immaterial.

# 56 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 57 OFCR. THOMPSON:

No.

# 58 MR. DARDEN:

Have you ever seen anyone arrested for murder?

# 59 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes.

# 60 MR. DARDEN:

And on those occasions, have you ever seen anyone get treated any better--

# 61 MR. COCHRAN:

Object to the form of that question.

# 62 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 63 MR. DARDEN:

--than the way Mr. Simpson was treated at that time by Detective Vannatter?

# 64 OFCR. THOMPSON:

I've never seen a person arrested for murder treated in the way I saw this on the video, no.

KEY QUOTE

# 65 MR. DARDEN:

That's not what you were taught in the academy, is it?

# 66 OFCR. THOMPSON:

No.

# 67 MR. DARDEN:

Mr. Cochran asked you some questions about your ability to assess the Defendant's demeanor when you saw him. Recall those questions?

# 68 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes.

# 69 MR. DARDEN:

And you told Mr. Cochran that you'd never seen the Defendant before when he was sad, correct?

# 70 OFCR. THOMPSON:

That's correct.

# 71 MR. DARDEN:

You've never seen him before when he was happy, right?

# 72 OFCR. THOMPSON:

In person, no.

# 73 MR. DARDEN:

That's a hard call, isn't it, to assess someone's demeanor when you've only met him for the first time; is that right?

# 74 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Somewhat, yes.

# 75 MR. DARDEN:

And it doesn't matter whether you're a policeman at the mouth of a driveway in Brentwood or a passenger on an airline, correct?

# 76 MR. COCHRAN:

I object. That calls for speculation.

# 77 THE COURT:

Sustained. Sustained.

# 78 MR. DARDEN:

Either way, it's difficult when you don't--when you haven't had any prior experience with the person, right?

# 79 MR. COCHRAN:

Object to the form of that question, either way.

# 80 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 81 MR. DARDEN:

Is that right?

# 82 OFCR. THOMPSON:

It's a little more difficult, yes.

# 83 MR. DARDEN:

Okay. Now, you told us that you've never seen anyone arrested for murder being treated in the manner the Defendant was and that that is inconsistent with what you were taught in the academy?

# 84 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Yes.

# 85 MR. DARDEN:

Okay. How was that different from what you were taught in the academy?

# 86 OFCR. THOMPSON:

Well, you--if you're transporting a Defendant arrested for murder, first of all, you don't walk in front of them. No. 2, you usually have them handcuffed--as a matter of fact, always have them handcuffed. No. 3, you usually transport them in a partitioned vehicle.

KEY QUOTE

# 87 MR. DARDEN:

Would you characterize the treatment this Defendant received that day as special treatment?

# 88 THE COURT:

This is the third time we've asked this question.

KEY QUOTE

# 89 MR. DARDEN:

I don't think I've ever used the term "Special treatment," your Honor.

# 90 THE COURT:

No. I think we have.

# 91 MR. DARDEN:

Okay. You think I have? In that case, I'll sit down and be quiet, your Honor. Thank you, officer.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Donald Thompson

I've never seen a person arrested for murder treated in the way I saw this on the video, no.

The prosecution's core thesis — that Simpson received special, celebrity treatment that compromised the integrity of the arrest and investigation.

Donald Thompson

Well, you--if you're transporting a Defendant arrested for murder, first of all, you don't walk in front of them. No. 2, you usually have them handcuffed--as a matter of fact, always have them handcuffed. No. 3, you usually transport them in a partitioned vehicle.

A point-by-point itemization of how standard procedure was abandoned, reinforcing the 'special treatment' argument.

Donald Thompson

I've never seen that ever before.

Referring to the embrace between defense attorney Weitzman and Detective Vannatter — underscores the unusual, cozy relationship between the defense and investigating detectives.

Lance A. Ito

This is the third time we've asked this question.

Ito cuts Darden off before he can explicitly use the phrase 'special treatment,' signaling the judge felt the point had been made sufficiently.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Video footage showing Howard Weitzman opening Detective Vannatter's car door, Simpson climbing in unassisted and without handcuffs, and Weitzman and Vannatter embracing afterward

discussed, used to elicit confirmations from witness

Notable Exchanges (3)

Christopher Darden•Donald Thompson

Darden walks Thompson through every deviation from standard arrest procedure — no handcuffs, no partition, defense attorney opening the car door, the Weitzman-Vannatter embrace — with Thompson confirming each as unusual or contrary to training.

strategic

Lance A. Ito•Christopher Darden

Ito stops Darden as he's about to ask about 'special treatment' for the third time, prompting Darden's slightly sardonic reply: 'Okay. You think I have? In that case, I'll sit down and be quiet, your Honor.'

wry

Lance A. Ito•Johnnie Cochran

After Cochran objects to the Weitzman-Vannatter embrace question and Ito overrules three times in rapid succession, Cochran offers 'I'll stipulate' — a rare concession that the moment was indeed unusual.

revealing

Light Moments (2)

Lance A. Ito

Ito overrules Cochran's objection three consecutive times, then adds 'It's unusual' — essentially editorializing from the bench.

Johnnie Cochran

Cochran, apparently conceding the point, interjects 'The video speaks for itself' — to which Ito simply says 'Overruled.'

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Detective Vannatter

conduct impeachment via third-party witness

Darden uses Thompson to establish that Vannatter's handling of Simpson's arrest — no handcuffs, no partition, embracing the defense attorney — violated standard procedure and academy training, implicitly attacking Vannatter's credibility and impartiality as the lead detective.

Objections

12 objections (3 sustained, 7 overruled)

Proceeding 6896 • 91 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103