Los Angeles Police Removes Robert Kennedy Death Items from Hotel Display

Written by Linda Deutsch, AP Special Correspondent Thursday, 04 March 2010 00:22

LOS ANGELES, CA (AP) The Los Angeles Police Department apologized to the family of Robert F. Kennedy for exhibiting the tie, white shirt and black jacket the senator was wearing when he was assassinated in 1968. After a complaint from the family, the LAPD removed the items from a display at a homicide investigators conference in Las Vegas. Kennedy was shot in the head by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Beck said it was the first time the clothing had been on display. Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, has viewed the clothing many times and said it contains spots that are likely Kennedy's blood.

"This is supposed to be a learning experience," Police Chief Charlie Beck told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "It wasn't intended to cause anyone grief or to be prurient or salacious in any way."  However, the Kennedy items were removed Tuesday before the exhibit opened to the public Wednesday.

Other items in the exhibit entitled "Behind the Scenes" included gloves and a knit cap from the O.J. Simpson murder trial and a rope tied around the neck of Sharon Tate and other weapons used when seven people were killed by the Manson family 40 years ago.

Although the 1995 criminal trial of O. J. Simpson   for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson   and   Ronald Goldman   has been called "a great trash novel come to life," no one can deny the pull it had on the American public. If the early reports of the murder of the wife of the ex-football-star-turned-sports-announcer hadn't caught people's full attention, Simpson's surreal Bronco ride on the day of his arrest certainly did--ninety-five million television viewers witnessed the slow police chase live. The 133 days of televised courtroom testimony turned countless viewers into Simpson trial junkies.  Even foreign leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Boris Yeltsin eagerly gossiped about the trial.  When Yeltsin stepped off his plane to meet President Clinton, the first question he asked was, "Do you think O. J. did it?"  When, at 10 a.m. PST on October 3, Judge Ito's clerk read the jury's verdict of "Not Guilty," 91% of all persons viewing television were glued to the unfolding scene in the Los Angeles courtroom.

Debra Tate, the sister of Sharon Tate, said she and family members of other victims should have been notified in advance that evidence was going to be shown.

"A little warning would have been nice so we could prepare ourselves emotionally," Tate said. "It's part of the insensitivity the department shows toward victims. We're being victimized over and over again." Tate plans to complain to the LAPD. However, she said she understands the value of the exhibit.

The display was prepared by the Los Angeles Police Department for the 2010 California Homicide Investigators Conference at the Palms hotel and casino resort in Las Vegas. It also included photographs, video footage and vintage vehicles from Los Angeles homicide investigations spanning 100 years.

Police spokesman Mary Grady said Kennedy family made the only complaint she was aware of. She said the evidence on display had all been presented in court and was part of the public record. Photos of many of the items were posted on Web sites, she said.

"We have a line of people out the door waiting to see it," Grady said.

Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley said his office was pleased to contribute to the exhibit. "The Los Angeles Police Department's homicide investigators have again and again demonstrated their ability to put together evidence on all sorts of crimes and certainly the more notorious killings in the city," he said.

Photographs and memorabilia from high-profile cases also were obtained from the Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum. Other cases highlighted included Marilyn Monroe's death, the Black Dahlia murder, the 1997 North Hollywood bank shootout and the 1974 Symbionese Liberation Army shootout.

Associated Press Writers Thomas Watkins in Washington, D.C., and Oskar Garcia in Las Vegas contributed to this report. / Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

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