Fuhrman tapes
Encyclopedia
The Fuhrman tapes are 13 hours of taped interviews given by Los Angeles police officer Mark Fuhrman
to writer Laura McKinny between 1985 and 1994. The tapes include many racist slurs and remarks made by Fuhrman, and portions of the tapes were admitted into evidence during the O. J. Simpson murder case
.
After learning that Fuhrman was a Los Angeles Police Department
(LAPD) officer and had strong views about the employment of women as LAPD officers, McKinny engaged Fuhrman as a consultant
to provide background information about the reality of the experiences of LAPD officers and to serve as a technical advisor
in the development of a screenplay
.
due to exigent circumstances. Only very limited excerpts of the tapes were admitted as evidence in the 1995 murder trial against O.J. Simpson, yet the admitted portions were strong enough to cast doubts on Fuhrman's motives and credibility.
"That we've got females ...and dumb niggers, and all your Mexicans that can't even write the name of the car they drive."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p.11.)
"If I'm wrestling around with some ___ nigger, and he gets me in my back, and he gets his hands on my gun. It's over."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p. 12)
"She was afraid. He was a big nigger, and she was afraid."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p. 20)
"He was a nigger. He didn't belong. Two questions. And you are going: Where do you live? 22nd and Western. Where were you going? Well, I'm going to Fatburger. Where's Fatburger. He didn't know where Fatburger was? Get in the car."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p.33)
"Commander Hickman, was a dickhead. He should be shot. He did that for one thing. He wants to be chief, so he wants the city council, and the police commissioner, and all these niggers in L.A. City government and all of 'em should be lined up against a wall and fuckin' shot."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p.41)
"You know these people here, we got all this money going to Ethiopia for what. To feed a bunch of dumb wild ape niggers that their own government won't even feed."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p. 44)
"People there don't want niggers in their town. People there don't want Mexicans in their town. They don't want anybody but good people in their town, and anyway you can do to get them out of there that's fine with them. We have no niggers where I grew up."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p.45)
"When I came on the job all my training officers were big guys and knowledgeable, some nigger'd get in their face, they just spin 'em around, choke 'em out until they dropped."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1., p. 47)
"No, we have to eliminate a choke hold because a bunch of niggers down in the south end of L.A. said this is bad."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1., p. 49)
Mark Fuhrman
Mark Fuhrman is a former detective of the Los Angeles Police Department , known for his part in the investigation of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and his subsequent felony conviction for perjury...
to writer Laura McKinny between 1985 and 1994. The tapes include many racist slurs and remarks made by Fuhrman, and portions of the tapes were admitted into evidence during the O. J. Simpson murder case
O. J. Simpson murder case
The O. J. Simpson murder case was a criminal trial held in Los Angeles County, California Superior Court from January 29 to October 3, 1995. Former American football star and actor O. J...
.
Creation of tapes
Laura McKinny was interested in writing a screenplay and a novel about the experience of women police officers.After learning that Fuhrman was a Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
(LAPD) officer and had strong views about the employment of women as LAPD officers, McKinny engaged Fuhrman as a consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
to provide background information about the reality of the experiences of LAPD officers and to serve as a technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
in the development of a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
.
Role in O.J. Simpson murder trial
Fuhrman was the officer who found both gloves, much of the blood drops in the dark and who entered Simpson's estate grounds without a search warrantSearch warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
due to exigent circumstances. Only very limited excerpts of the tapes were admitted as evidence in the 1995 murder trial against O.J. Simpson, yet the admitted portions were strong enough to cast doubts on Fuhrman's motives and credibility.
Excerpts from Fuhrman tapes
Among the portions that were admitted were the following:- ( ...speaking of changes in composition of L.A.P.D.).
"That we've got females ...and dumb niggers, and all your Mexicans that can't even write the name of the car they drive."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p.11.)
- ( ...speaking of the physical risks to officers).
"If I'm wrestling around with some ___ nigger, and he gets me in my back, and he gets his hands on my gun. It's over."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p. 12)
- ( ...describing arrest of a suspect).
"She was afraid. He was a big nigger, and she was afraid."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p. 20)
- (...explaining arrest of a suspect in Westwood).
"He was a nigger. He didn't belong. Two questions. And you are going: Where do you live? 22nd and Western. Where were you going? Well, I'm going to Fatburger. Where's Fatburger. He didn't know where Fatburger was? Get in the car."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p.33)
- (...commenting on L.A. P. D. politics).
"Commander Hickman, was a dickhead. He should be shot. He did that for one thing. He wants to be chief, so he wants the city council, and the police commissioner, and all these niggers in L.A. City government and all of 'em should be lined up against a wall and fuckin' shot."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p.41)
- (...discussing American aid to drought victims in Ethiopia).
"You know these people here, we got all this money going to Ethiopia for what. To feed a bunch of dumb wild ape niggers that their own government won't even feed."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p. 44)
- (...discussing where he grew up in the state of Washington).
"People there don't want niggers in their town. People there don't want Mexicans in their town. They don't want anybody but good people in their town, and anyway you can do to get them out of there that's fine with them. We have no niggers where I grew up."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1, p.45)
- ( ...speaking of women as training officers).
"When I came on the job all my training officers were big guys and knowledgeable, some nigger'd get in their face, they just spin 'em around, choke 'em out until they dropped."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1., p. 47)
- (...discussing use of chokehold by L.A.P.D.).
"No, we have to eliminate a choke hold because a bunch of niggers down in the south end of L.A. said this is bad."
(McKinny Transcript No. 1., p. 49)