DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. DARDEN:
MS. GILBERT: I'M A POLICE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE.
MR. DARDEN: AND ARE YOU ALSO A 911 OPERATOR AND DISPATCHER?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. DARDEN: OKAY. AND WERE YOU A 911 OPERATOR AND DISPATCHER ON JANUARY 1, 1989?
MS. GILBERT: YES, I WAS.
MR. DARDEN: AND WERE YOU ON DUTY BETWEEN 3:00 AND FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING ON THAT DATE?
MS. GILBERT: YES, I WAS . . . 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.
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MR. DARDEN: I'M SORRY, MISS GILBERT. WHAT TIME DID YOU SAY YOU RECEIVED THE TELEPHONE CALL?
MS. GILBERT: 3:58.
MR. DARDEN: 3:58 IN THE MORNING?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR.DARDEN: AND DOES THE INCIDENT REPORT INDICATE THE ORIGIN OF THE TELEPHONE CALL?
MS. GILBERT: 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.
MR. DARDEN: OKAY. OKAY. SO THE CALL CAME TO YOU, RIGHT?
MS. GILBERT: RIGHT. IT WAS AN OPEN LINE.
MR.DARDEN: OKAY. COULD YOU HEAR ANYTHING OVER THE OPEN LINE?
MS. GILBERT: NO. AT THE BEGINNING, NO.
MR. DARDEN: OKAY. DID THE LINE REMAIN OPEN?
MS. GILBERT: YES, IT DID.
MR. DARDEN: AND WHILE THE LINE WAS OPENED, AT ANY POINT IN TIME COULD YOU HEAR ANYTHING?
MS. GILBERT: YES, I DID.
MR. DARDEN: WHAT DID YOU HEAR?
MS. GILBERT: 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.
MR. DARDEN: OKAY. AND DID YOU HEAR ANYTHING ELSE?
MS. GILBERT: YES, I DID.
MR. DARDEN: WHAT DID YOU HEAR?
MS. GILBERT: I HEARD SOMEONE BEING HIT.
MR. DARDEN: YOU HEARD A NOISE THAT YOU ASSOCIATED WITH SOMEONE BEING HIT?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. DARDEN: AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THAT INFORMATION?
MS. GILBERT: 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.
MR. DARDEN: IN FACT, YOU INDICATED THAT A FEMALE BEING BEATEN AT LOCATION COULD BE HEARD OVER THE TELEPHONE; IS THAT RIGHT?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. DARDEN: WHAT WAS THE NEXT THING THAT YOU DID AFTER YOU UPDATED THE INCIDENT REPORT?
MS. GILBERT: I BROUGHT UP THE NECESSARY FREQUENCIES TO BROADCAST IT BUREAU WIDE, AND FOR THE AIR UNIT, TO ASSIGN A UNIT.
MR. DARDEN: OKAY. AND DID YOU ASSIGN A UNIT?
MS. GILBERT: 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.
MR. DARDEN: AND IS THERE SOMETHING CALLED A CALL PRIORITY OR A PRIORITY CODE IN TERMS OF DISPATCHING UNITS TO CERTAIN TYPES OF INCIDENTS?
MS. GILBERT: 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.
MR. DARDEN: YOU MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO THAT THE TELEPHONE LINE WAS LEFT OPEN; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. DARDEN: CAN YOU TELL US HOW LONG THAT LINE WAS LEFT OPEN?
MS. GIBLERT: 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.
MR. DARDEN: OKAY. SO THE LINE WAS OPEN THEN THREE TO FOUR MINUTES?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. DARDEN: AND HAVE YOU LISTENED TO THE 911 CALL YOU RECEIVED AT 3:58 IN THE MORNING ON JANUARY 1, 1989?
MS. GILBERT: YES, I HAVE.
MR. DARDEN: AND WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU LISTENED TO THAT TAPE?
MS. GILBERT: APPROXIMATELY A WEEK AND A HALF AGO.
MR. DARDEN: AND WHEN YOU LISTENED TO THE TAPE A WEEK AND A HALF AGO, COULD YOU HEAR SLAPS OR STRIKES?
MR. COCHRAN: MOVE TO STRIKE, YOUR HONOR, AS CONCLUSIONARY IN FORM.
THE COURT: OVERRULED. YOU CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION.
MS. GILBERT : I COULD IN REMEMBERING THE CALL. I COULD DETERMINE AFTER THE FIRST SCREAM, THEN I HEARD SOMEONE BEING HIT.
MR. DARDEN: DID YOU INDICATE THAT YOU DISPATCHED UNITS TO 360 NORTH ROCKINGHAM, APARTMENT B?
MS. GILBERT: YES, IT IS INDICATED ON THERE.
MR. DARDEN: SO IT IS DURING THE TELEPHONE CALL THEN THAT YOU TYPED IN THE COMMENT ABOUT YOUR HEARING A WOMAN BEING BEATEN?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. DARDEN: OKAY. DID THE CALLER EVER SPEAK TO YOU DIRECTLY?
MS. GILBERT: NO.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. COCHRAN:
MR. COCHRAN: THE DATE OF THIS INCIDENT WAS BACK IN 1989; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. COCHRAN: THAT WAS JANUARY 1ST?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. COCHRAN: WAS THAT JANUARY 1ST, 1989, AT ABOUT 3:58 IN THE MORNING SO THAT WOULD BE NEW YEAR'S DAY MORNING; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: NEW YEAR'S DAY MORNING, YES.
MR. COCHRAN: AND AS WE LISTENED TO THAT TAPE, COULD WE HEAR YOU TYPING?
MS. GILBERT: YES, YOU COULD.
MR. COCHRAN: AND ARE YOU A PRETTY FAST TYPIST?
MS. GILBERT: I DON'T KNOW. MAYBE.
MR. COCHRAN: WELL, YOU HEARD YOUR -- THE TYPING IN THERE, DIDN'T YOU?
MS. GILBERT: YES, RIGHT.
MR. COCHRAN: AND SO THERE IS NO MISTAKING ABOUT IT, YOUR TYPING WAS NOT ANYBODY BEING STRUCK, WAS IT?
MS. GILBERT: NO.
MR. COCHRAN: AND SINCE YOU DIDN'T TALK TO ANYBODY, YOU DON'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THERE WAS BLOWS BEING PASSED BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE OR WHAT THE SITUATION WAS, DO YOU?
MS. GILBERT: WHEN I TOOK THE CALL, WHEN IT CAME -- WHEN IT DROPPED IN AT THE VERY BEGINNING?
MR. COCHRAN: YES, MA'AM.
MS. GILBERT: AND THE WOMAN IS SCREAMING?
MR. COCHRAN: YES, MA'AM.
MS. GILBERT: THEN I HEARD THE HITS AT THE SAME TIME.
MR. COCHRAN: BUT WHAT I'M ASKING YOU, YOU HADN'T TALKED TO ANYBODY SO YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE AT THAT LOCATION, DO YOU?
MS. GILBERT: NO, I DO NOT.
MR. COCHRAN: YOU HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING THAT, DO YOU?
MS. GILBERT: ONLY WHAT I HEARD. I HAVE TO CREATE AN INCIDENT ACCORDING TO WHAT I HEAR. EITHER WAY, I WAS SENDING THE POLICE AT THE BEGINNING AS AN UNKNOWN TROUBLE. SOMETHING WAS GOING ON AT THAT LOCATION THAT SOMEONE DIALED 911.
OUR PROCEDURE IS ANYTIME YOU GET A CALL ON 911, WHETHER YOU HEAR ANYONE OR NOT, YOU HAVE TO SEND THE POLICE ON AN UNKNOWN TROUBLE.
MR. COCHRAN: I UNDERSTAND. AND THAT IS EXACTLY THE POINT. IT WAS UNKNOWN TROUBLE TO YOU, RIGHT?
MS. GILBERT: IN THE BEGINNING.
MR. COCHRAN: RIGHT. YOU ARE DOWNTOWN AT 150 NORTH LOS ANGELES; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: RIGHT.
MR. COCHRAN: AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING
ON -- BETWEEN ANY TWO OR THREE PARTIES AT THE LOCATION; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: THAT'S CORRECT.
MR. COCHRAN: ALL RIGHT. YOU HEAR CERTAIN THINGS; IS THAT RIGHT?
MS. GILBERT: RIGHT.
MR. COCHRAN: AND THEN BASED UPON WHAT YOU HEAR, YOU START TO TYPE INTO YOUR COMPUTER; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: THAT'S CORRECT.
MR. COCHRAN: DID I ALSO HEAR A LOT OF STATIC ON THAT LINE?
MS. GILBERT: THE STATIC THAT YOU HEARD WAS WHEN I BROUGHT UP THE FREQUENCY TO BROADCAST TO THE OTHER UNITS. THAT IS THE TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE COMPUTER TO THE RADIO, NOT FOR THE TELEPHONE.
MR. COCHRAN: ALL RIGHT. SO THE STATIC WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS GENERATED BY WHAT YOU DID IN BROADCASTING TO THE OTHER UNIT ON A POLICE FREQUENCY; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. COCHRAN: ALL RIGHT. SO WOULD DID HEAR STATIC, RIGHT?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. COCHRAN: IN OTHER WORDS, THESE ARE OTHER CALLS? YOU WERE STILL GETTING OTHER CALLS?
MS. GILBERT: NO, I WAS NOT GETTING OTHER CALLS. THERE WERE OTHER PEOPLE AROUND ME THAT WERE TALKING TO THEIR CALLER AND COULD BE HEARD. MY MICROPHONE WILL PICK IT UP.
MR. COCHRAN: ALL RIGHT. NOW, AT SOME POINT YOU TYPE INTO AND YOU DESCRIBED FOR US THAT YOU TYPE INTO YOUR COMPUTER "FEMALE BEING BEATEN AT LOCATION COULD BE HEARD OVER THE PHONE," AND THAT WAS WHAT YOU CONCLUDED AFTER YOU HEARD THIS WOMAN SCREAMING; IS THAT RIGHT?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. COCHRAN: AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHETHER THERE WAS A MUTUAL FIGHT OR WHAT WAS GOING ON, DO YOU, AT THAT POINT?
MS. GILBERT: NO, I DO NOT.
MR. COCHRAN: ALL RIGHT. SO YOU -- WHAT YOU WROTE DOWN WAS WHAT YOU CONCLUDED AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: WHAT I CONCLUDED THAT I HEARD.
MR. COCHRAN: THAT WAS BACK IN JANUARY OF 1989, RIGHT?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. COCHRAN: YOU NEVER AT ANY TIME TALKED TO ANY OF THE PARTIES WHO WERE ACTUALLY AT THAT HOUSE?
MS. GILBERT: NO.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION:
MR. DARDEN: MISS GILBERT, YOU CONCLUDED BACK ON JANUARY 1, 1989, THAT A WOMAN WAS BEING BEATEN AS YOU LISTENED IN ON THE TELEPHONE?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. DARDEN: AND SINCE -- YOU HAVE HEARD THAT TAPE AGAIN, THAT IS, SINCE 1989; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: YES.
MR. DARDEN: HAVE YOUR CONCLUSIONS CHANGED?
MS. GILBERT: NO, THEY HAVE NOT.
RECROSS-EXAMINATION:
MR. COCHRAN: AND SO THAT IT IS ABUNDANTLY CLEAR, MISS GILBERT, YOUR CONCLUSION ABOUT A PERSON BEING BEATEN WAS BASED UPON WHAT YOU HEARD AND YOU COULDN'T TELL WHO WAS STRIKING WHOM; IS THAT CORRECT?
MS. GILBERT: THAT'S CORRECT.