Thank you, your Honor. The People call Commander Bushey.

Keith D. Bushey, called as a witness by the People in rebuttal, was sworn and testified as follows:

Please raise your right hand to be sworn. 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.

I do.

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

Keith D. Bushey, B-U-S-H-E-Y.

Thank you.

Miss Clark.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

THE JURY: Good morning.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. CLARK

Sir, please tell is what your job is.

Commander, Los Angeles Police Department.

And where are you assigned, sir?

I am presently the commanding officer of the personnel group.

Can you tell us what your duties are and what your responsibilities are.

My present duties as the commanding officer of personnel group provide me in a position of oversight over several other department commands that deal with recruiting, hiring, promotions, transfers, equal opportunity, the reserve corps, medical issues and employee assistance.

Okay. Were you so assigned on June the 12th, 1994?

No.

Can you tell us what your assignment was on June the 12th and 13th of 1994?

At that time I was the assistant commanding officer of operations West Bureau.

And what were your duties at that time, sir?

As the assistant commanding officer of operations West Bureau I was second in command to a deputy chief who was responsible for roughly one/fourth of the city of Los Angeles for the delivery of conventional police services to include patrol and investigative, and that portion of the city encompassed the geographic areas of Hollywood, Pacific, West Los Angeles, Wilshire and also the West Traffic Division.

Is that all?

I specifically had functional responsibility over the detective function, and in the absence of the commanding officer, who was ill on frequent occasion, I served as the commanding officer of that bureau.

Were you then acting as the commanding officer on the night of June the 12th and early morning hours of June the 13th, 1994?

I was acting as the assistant commanding officer on that evening.

When you say that you had supervisory duties over the detective activities--

Not line supervision, but I had functional supervision over all investigative activities in that portion of the city.

And what does that mean in terms of what you supervise?

Oversight over the investigative function, the virtual investigation of all crimes that would be handled at the area level, to include the training, the deployment of detective personnel, the--ensuring that the commanded resources they needed with which to carry out their functions and overall oversight of the investigative function.

All right. Sir, directing your attention then to the early morning hours of June the 13th, 1994, did you receive a phone call or speak with Detective Phillips?

Yes, I did.

And do you recall approximately when that was?

To the best of my recollection, and I'm sure that I'm pretty close, probably right around 2:30 in the morning.

And when I say Detective Phillips, are you aware of who I mean, Detective Ron Phillips?

Yes.

You know him personally, do you, sir?

I do.

And who was in charge of that crime scene when you spoke to him at approximately 2:30 on the early morning hours of June 13th?

He was, Detective Phillips.

And he--why did he call you?

I was called as part of the notification process. Within the police department when certain things occur, certain notifications need to be made, and the instance of a particularly noteworthy crime, one that is likely to attract media attention, one of the things that takes place is the bureau is notified and I was the right person to notify.

Okay. So was that standard operating procedure then?

Yes.

Are they required also to keep you apprised of the developments of the case?

Significant developments, yes.

Now, sir, had you had any previous experience with a high-profile case?

Yes.

And what case was that?

I object, irrelevant and immaterial.

Overruled.

The Belushi death.

John Belushi?

That's correct.

Was there some particular experience with respect to that, sir, concerning the habit or practice of notification to the next of kin?

Yes.

Can you tell was that was?

Object, your Honor, irrelevant and immaterial.

Overruled. I take it that we are going to relate this directly?

Exactly.

Briefly?

Very.

The Belushi situation was very troubling for me personally because the time frame from the time that his body was discovered until the media had that information was very, very short, and I felt very bad at the number of his relatives who most certainly learned about his death through the media rather than through the family notification process. And as a result of that and other experiences one of the things that I've always felt very strongly about--

Your Honor, I think he has answered the question.

He has answered the question. Next question.

Now, after you spoke to Detective Phillips that night, sir, did you get another call from an officer at the scene?

Yes.

And who was that?

Captain Connie Dial.

And who is she?

She at that time was the commanding officer of West Los Angeles Patrol Division and she was the ranking officer from West L.A. area who responded to that scene.

Now, when you spoke to Detective Phillips the first time, I think you indicated approximately 2:30 A.m.--by the way, that is an approximation, sir?

That's correct.

When you spoke to Detective Ron Phillips at that time did you give him some command or order?

Yes.

And what was that?

Well, I gave him a--I gave him a suggestion and I gave him an order. There were two pieces of information that I conveyed to Detective Phillips.

What was the suggestion, sir?

The suggestion was that the case was--had all the appearance of--

I object. This is hearsay, your Honor.

Overruled.

Looked like a big case, a lot of media attention, no suspect, and it had the potential to overwhelm the resources of--

Your Honor, this is hearsay.

Overruled. It is not hearsay. He is telling us why he did this and what the suggestion was.

Right.

Thank you, your Honor.

Had the potential to overwhelm the resources available within an area homicide unit, and I told Detective Phillips to be sure to let me know if he needed resources beyond that which he had available to him at that time.

That was the suggestion?

That's correct.

And then you gave an order?

That's correct.

And what was the order?

And why was that an order?

Certainly there is always a notification, but the sooner we can make the notification to a principal in this instance, Mr. Simpson, it stands to reason that the family notification will take place and I wanted to do everything humanly possible to minimize the number of her relatives, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts, that would hear it over the media the next morning. I wanted her relatives to learn of her death through the family and not through the media, and the sooner we could make that notification, the more likely that would occur.

And so why was it that you ordered them to contact Mr. Simpson, as opposed to her family?

Well, the ex-husband, but probably the big thing is we had his children there and I was thinking of dual custody type situation, and it seemed to me to--seemed to reason that it would be less difficult to contact him. Not only that, but he is a prominent personality and seemed like somebody that we could get ahold of right away, but once again, the children there caused that to seem like a very good and necessary thing to do.

And first thing to? Do.

Absolutely very first thing.

When you said started the family notification process by notifying Mr. Simpson, what do you mean by that?

Well, I think it stands to reason, and certainly it does in my thirty years of police work and fifty years as being a human being, I recognize within a family very, very good news and very, very bad news travels very rapidly, and the sooner we can notify, the sooner the rest of the family is likely to be aware of what occurred.

You mean you would expect him to call them?

Certainly.

Now, you--after you had that conversation and gave that suggestion and then that order to Detective Phillips, you indicate that you got another call from Captain Connie Dial?

That's correct.

And approximately what time was that?

To the best of my recollection probably an hour, perhaps an hour and a half later.

Was there some event occurring at the particular time that you got the call from her with respect to which division would be handling this case?

Yes.

And what was that, sir?

The decision had been made that indeed the resources--West L.A. Homicide may have been overwhelmed by the case or may be overwhelmed by the case and a case was made and approved that robbery/homicide take over the investigation and that is when Detectives Lange and Vannatter responded to the scene and did formally take over the investigation.

Now, when you received the call from Captain Dial, did she inform you as to whether anyone from robbery/homicide was present?

I believe so. I believe that at that time both Vannatter and Lange were present.

And at the time that she was speaking to you, sir, did she describe what she was seeing at the crime scene?

Object, your Honor, hearsay.

Overruled: Yes or no.

Yes, she did.

Excuse me.

In the hierarchy of the police department, sir, how does Detective Phillips--how did he rank with respect to his position and yours as of June the 13th, 1994?

Detective Phillips was and is a lead homicide investigator in West Los Angeles Detective Division. He holds the position of Detective III. He works for Lieutenant Frank Spangler who is the commanding officer of West Los Angeles Detectives. Lieutenant Spangler works for Captain Robert Kurth who is the commanding officer of West area. Off to the side, but as a partner and leadership to Commander Kurth, is Captain Connie Dial who commands the patrol division but who shares call-out responsibilities with Captain Kurth. Captain Kurth in turn reports to operations West Bureau and at that time his--would have reported to myself or to Deputy Chief Frankle, whoever was available at the time.

I stopped counting. So that is what, like four levels between you?

At least three.

Okay. Could Detective Phillips refuse to follow any order given by you, sir?

No.

Now, when you spoke to Captain Dial later on, could you get some sense from your conversation with her as to where she was as she spoke to you?

Absolutely.

And what was that?

She was standing at the crime scene and I know that because she was describing the scene to me.

Object as hearsay, your Honor.

Overruled.

Now, at that time you knew that Detective Vannatter and Detective Lange were there because robbery/homicide had taken over?

Yes.

And did you inquire of her as to whether or not you had a suspect yet?

Yes, I did.

And what did you learn, sir?

Object, your Honor. This is hearsay.

Sustained.

She responded to you, did she not?

Yes.

Did she tell you O.J. Simpson was a suspect?

I object. This is hearsay, your Honor.

Sustained.

Okay. After you inquired of her as to whether or not there was a suspect, sir, based on what she told you, did you order anyone to be arrested?

Your Honor, I object. I object.

Overruled.

Hearsay, your Honor.

Overruled.

No.

And what was your state of mind after your conversation with her?

That is irrelevant and immaterial.

Sustained.

Goes to explain subsequent conduct, your Honor.

Sustained.

I'm sorry.

All right. In the conversation that you had with Captain Dial, did you give another order?

I asked some questions and I gave--I reiterated my previous order, that Mr. Simpson be notified as soon as possible.

And during--that was during the course of the conversation when you inquired as to whether or not there was a suspect?

That is correct.

And having heard her response, it was your reiteration of the order given previously?

I object, your Honor, as hearsay.

Sustained. We have already gone through this.

After you got her response, sir, did you reiterate the order to notify Mr. Simpson?

Been asked and answered.

Sustained. We have already asked this question, counsel.

All right. Now, you had previously ordered Detective Phillips to make sure he made personal notification; is that right?

That's correct.

And did you issue an order with respect to robbery/homicide?

Yes.

And what was that order?

I explained to Captain Dial that even though robbery/homicide had taken over the investigation and even though robbery/homicide was not in the--the chain of command of West Bureau, as a staff officer of the Los Angeles Police Department I reiterated my order and I wanted robbery/homicide to find Mr. Simpson as soon as possible and ensure that the notification took place, and I reiterated my rationale as to why I insisted that occur.

Okay. Was that a suggestion, sir?

And was it an order that you made very clear and very--you were very adamant about?

Now, you are aware that four detectives went to make notification to Mr. Simpson?

Yes.

And did you approve of that?

Certainly.

Is that unusual?

No, not at all.

And why is that?

Well, I think each case is a little bit different and in this case we had some--some situations that had the potential of being very time-consuming. We had--robbery/homicide I don't believe was familiar with that area. We have a couple of detectives who are familiar with that geographic area.

Speculation, your Honor.

Overruled.

We don't know what type of--how many people are going to be where Mr. Simpson is. We don't know what degree of grief we are going to have to deal with. It may be and frequently is that we have to leave somebody with a grieving relative until a clergyman or someone else shows up. We have a couple children involved. And those can become very complex issues. There is a likelihood that we might interview witnesses and so it is not at all unusual that we have four detectives respond to a situation of that nature.

Okay. Now, was there in some sense preferential treatment, sir?

Yes, I think so.

And why is that?

Well, the Los Angeles Police Department always wants to do the very best job we can, there is no doubt about that, and there are some instances--

Move to strike that as non-responsive.

Overruled.

There are some instances where realistically you know this is going to be particular scrutiny focused on a particular investigation and this had all the earmarks of something that would have a lot of media attention and it caused us to even be more determined to do the best job we possibly could.

And did that knowledge play any part in your specific and strong order to make personal notification to Mr. Simpson?

This is leading and suggestive.

It is.

What, if any, part did that concern play in your order to have Mr. Simpson personally notified?

There was no doubt in my mind that as soon as the media became aware of this tragedy it would be all over, you know, virtually every news--every TV station and every radio station. And I saw us in a race against time to make sure that that family was notified.

First?

First, that's correct.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.