Defense Tries to Discredit Witness Who Interviewed Tuffree

Jurors listened to the tape-recorded voice of murder suspect Daniel Allan Tuffree for a second day Thursday, as defense attorneys sought to discredit the psychologist who interviewed Tuffree after he shot and killed a Simi Valley police officer.

Deputy Public Defender Howard Asher challenged a series of false statements that psychologist Rex Beaber made to Tuffree as they talked in a hospital emergency room right after the shooting.

Playing quick excerpts of Tuffree’s three-hour taped interview with authorities, Asher asked Beaber why he told Tuffree that a witness had seen Tuffree point his gun at Officer Michael Clark when no such witness existed.

“It is my intention to intentionally mislead suspects in an effort to induce them to tell the truth,” Beaber answered, adding that he has used the technique “hundreds of times.”

Beaber told the jury that he is paid $170 an hour by the district attorney’s office to examine suspects after incidents such as shootings.

Asher went on to ask the psychologist why he promised Tuffree that he would get him a glass of water, when he did not plan to. Tuffree repeatedly pleaded with nurses for food, water and finally ice cubes to suck on throughout the interview.

“I left the room to consult with the officers about the case,” Beaber said, explaining that he had no intention of getting Tuffree water, although that is what he told him he planned to do, according to the taped interview.

Tuffree is on trial for the shooting death of Clark. He is also charged with armed assault and attempted murder for allegedly shooting at another officer sent to his house on Aug. 4, 1995, to check on his welfare.

Tuffree had been taking Valium and drinking alcohol and had stopped answering his phone, according to court testimony.

Immediately after the shooting, Tuffree told investigators his version of what he described as a “battle situation” that broke out between him and Clark through Tuffree’s kitchen window.

In a tired but impassioned voice, Tuffree recounted on tape how he began his day by drinking wine and taking Valium and ended it in a bloody gunfight that left the police officer slain and Tuffree shot in the arm and screaming for help.

Although court testimony by one of the police officers at the scene suggested that Tuffree pointed his gun at Clark and then fired at him, during his interview, Tuffree repeatedly denied having fired first.

He also denied having pointed his gun at Clark, saying he was holding it at his side to “scare off” the police, but had no intention of using the weapon.

Throughout his recorded interview, Tuffree repeatedly tells Beaber and a police detective that he returned fire after Clark shot at him.

“I did not fire first!” he yells at one point. “I did not fire first!”

Prosecutors have argued that Tuffree fired five shots from two guns: a .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol and a .44-caliber Magnum revolver.

Although court testimony by crime scene investigators and firearms experts has offered various scenarios of how the shooting occurred, there has been no definitive testimony on who fired first.

During the interview, Tuffree also told investigators that people have described him as “a pretty good shot.” He told Beaber he would describe himself as a “B+” shooter.

Tuffree also told Simi Valley Police Det. Robert Hopkins that he was “by nature somewhat of a loner” who had been harassed by Simi Valley police before the Aug. 4 shooting.

At one point in the interview, Hopkins challenges Tuffree’s version of the shooting, yelling at him: “The officer didn’t fire on you, you fired on the officer.”

“No,” Tuffree said quietly. “It happened just as I related it.”

Prosecutors rested their case against Tuffree early Thursday afternoon after five weeks of testimony. The defense is scheduled to open its case Tuesday.