Ex-Cop With Knife From O.J. Simpson Home Says he Told LAPD About it Years Ago

The ex police officer who was given the knife found at O.J. Simpson's former home says he told the LAPD about it immediately, but they didn't care.

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Complex Original

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TMZ has identified the ex-Los Angeles police officer who for decades was holding on to a knife allegedly found at the former home of O.J. Simpson, setting off speculation today that it could be the murder weapon used against Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994.

George Maycott, 70, who retired in 1998 with what the website called a "clean record," was reportedly given the knife by a construction worker at Simpson's former home in 2002 when Maycott was working as security on a nearby movie set, which is apparently pretty common for off-duty and retired LAPD cops. 

According to Los Angeles local news station KABC, Maycott has explained through his lawyer Trent Copeland that he contacted the LAPD immediately to tell them about the knife, but they weren't interested.

"The person on the phone placed Maycott on hold, and said she spoke to a supervisor who said the case was over and there was nothing they could do due to double jeopardy, according to Copeland."

Copeland also described the knife as a 5-inch buck knife that was covered in dirt and mud and did not have any obvious signs of blood on it. Their story also describes how Maycott decided to frame the knife and have the LAPD records number for the Simpson murder case placed on the frame as a joke, before the knife was turned over the the LAPD on Feb. 10.

Earlier in the day, LAPD captain Andrew Neiman criticized Maycott without identifying him by name at a news conference, saying, "I was really surprised. I would think that an LAPD officer ... would know that any time you come into contact with evidence that you should submit that to investigators."

The LAPD is conducting forensics tests on the knife for DNA and hair samples, although officials have already said it's unlikely that it was the weapon used in the grizzly double murder, according to ABC News. Simpson was acquitted of murdering Nicole Brown-Simpson and Goldman in 1995 in a criminal trial dubbed the "trial of the century," though a civil suit later found him liable for their deaths.

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