Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Ex-LAPD Detective Mark Fuhrman Still Seems Mad About The O.J. Simpson Case

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.


You may remember Mark Fuhrman as the LAPD detective who testified during the O.J. Simpson trial. Well, he's still pretty bitter about how the whole thing went down and has no interest in watching American Crime Story. Former LAPD Detective Mark Fuhrman was the one who found the bloody glove at O.J. Simpson's home that purportedly did not fit Simpson's hand, inspiring defense attorney Johnnie Cochran's phrase, "If it does not fit, you must acquit." The defense in the trial maintained that Fuhrman was a racist and that he had planted the evidence, pointing to previous instances in which Furhman had reportedly used slurs and made racist statements. Furhman testified that he hadn't used those slurs at any point in the last decade, though it was later proven that he had. He retired from the LAPD in 1995 and pleaded no contest to a perjury charge in 1996 over his testimony surrounding his usage of racist epithets.

In a recent interview with the New York Post, he says he has zero desire to watch the current adaptation of the trial, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, and conveyed a lot of anger as to how the case unfolded.

He told the Post that he has seen the facts of the case dismissed several times over the past two decades "simply because it does not fit within the politically correct narrative." He accused FX of failing to reach out to anyone on the prosecution.

This miniseries will most probably define not the historical record of the murder of two people, but the almost pathological desire to elevate a narcissistic, violent man to victim status just because he was a black athlete. Immensely sad. I am angry and bitter because the truth is a massaged reality. Let's play grown­up for a while. This is not about me. There will be another O.J., and what we have learned is that political correctness and stupidity trump justice.

He had angry words for the media who he believed overlooked key facets of the investigation in favor of more sensational racial details, as well as Phil Vannatter, the lead detective in the case who Furhman claims "stole the credit" for evidence discoveries made by fellow detective Brad Roberts. He also blames the media for never contacting Roberts, who he says showed prosecutor Marcia Clark the evidence that he and Roberts found at Simpson's home, known as the Rockingham scene. This included black sweats in the washing machine that he believes Simpson wore during the murders and blood in various areas of the home. He also accused Vannatter of leaving evidence behind.

He noted three key pieces of evidence ignored by the prosecution, including a bloody fingerprint on a gate at Nicole Brown's house, the sweatpants, and an empty Swiss Army knife box found in Simpson's home.

When asked if he had any issues with how he was perceived in the public eye, he said, "You have no idea how little I care." That's apparently a line from Monte Walsh, a 2003 TV movie in which Tom Selleck plays the eponymous cowboy.

Sponsored message

Fuhrman is now 64 years old. He has always denied that he ever planted any evidence in the Simpson case, and has since written several true crime novels, including one about the Simpson case titled Murder in Brentwood.

In an interview last year, Fuhrman compared Simpson to Robert Durst. He was asked why he felt like Simpson was acquitted back in 1995.

The elephant in the room is, 'Oh, it's because the LAPD is racist and Fuhrman planted evidence.' And if you want to believe that, then you're a juror that didn't listen to any of the evidence and you watched the defense unable to prove a thing. So you didn't do your duty. But if we're gonna remove that and then just look at it, it's the same reason Jodi Arias isn't going to be put to death. Good-looking females are never put to death. Famous athletes...everyone wants to believe they're incapable of doing something every other human is capable of. So, there we have it.

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today