Los Angeles Police Department detective Mark Fuhrman, known for discovering the bloody glove in the O.J. Simpson murder case and later undermining the prosecution with his use of the n-word, has been barred from working in law enforcement in California.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the decision was made by California’s Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training.
This group has been decertifying officers under a new law aimed at police reform, part of California’s efforts to build trust between the public and police in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Fuhrman was declared ineligible for police work due to his status as a convicted felon. He pleaded no contest in 1996 to a felony count of perjury for lying about using a racial slur during O.J. Simpson’s trial.
The defense team played tapes in court where Fuhrman used the n-word, contradicting his earlier testimony in which he denied using the slur.
As the officer who found the bloody glove, Fuhrman’s credibility was called into question by Simpson’s legal team, who suggested he might have planted the evidence. This strategy contributed to Simpson’s acquittal.
Fuhrman’s felony perjury conviction made him the only person convicted of any crime related to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Following Simpson’s death in April, the state moved to bar Fuhrman from future police work.
Fuhrman retired from the LAPD in August 1995. Since then, he has written true crime books and worked as a TV and radio personality, including as an expert for Fox News. It’s unclear if he had any interest in returning to police work.
Fuhrman is one of many California officers barred from police work under the state’s 2021 decertification law.
