Nearly 30 years ago, O.J. Simpson became a fugitive at the center of the most storied police chase in Los Angeles history.
On June 17, 1994 Los Angeles was mesmerized by live television news coverage of the pursuit, which began after Los Angeles police announced at a news conference that Simpson — and NFL Hall of Famer and former USC football star — was a fugitive from justice who was sought in the killings of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman. Brown Simpson and her friend were found stabbed to death on June 12, 1994
The shocking announcement came from LAPD Deputy Chief David Gascon at department headquarters.
“The Los Angeles Police Department, right now, is actively searching for Mr. Simpson,” Gascon said.
Later that day, the infamous chase began in Orange County.
Thousands cheered, hanging from freeway overpasses and stopping to get out of their cars. Some held signs and chanted: “Go, O.J.!”
His driver, best friend and former Buffalo Bills teammate Al “A.C.” Cowlings, on a call with police, said Simpson had a gun to his head and wanted to go to his house. By nightfall, Simpson was inside his Brentwood home, where police allowed him to drink a glass of orange juice and phone his mother before taking him into custody.
Simpson was booked on two counts of first-degree murder for the June 12 stabbing deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Lyle Goldman. Cowlings was never charged.
Simpson went to trial for the murders in what became a national spectacle, with gavel-to-gavel live television coverage. Simpson was acquitted of the murder charges in October 1995, 11 months after the trial started.
In 1997, a jury in Santa Monica found Simpson civilly liable for the deaths of Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson, and he was ordered to pay their families $33.5 million in damages. Much of that judgment is believed to have never been paid.
Simpson died Wednesday of prostate cancer, his family announced on his official X account. He was 76.
Below are the key moments from the chase, including an interview with NBC4’s Conan Nolan, who was there.
Here are videos from NBC Los Angeles’ archives:
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