Officer recalls OJ's infamous white Bronco chase 25 years later

It was exactly 25 years ago that the most famous car chase in history interrupted households across the nation. But while hot on the chase of O.J. Simpsons white Ford Bronco, Orange County Sheriffs Sgt. Jim Sewell had no idea the entire country was glued to live footage of the pursuit.

It was exactly 25 years ago that the most famous car chase in history interrupted households across the nation.

But while hot on the chase of O.J. Simpson’s white Ford Bronco, Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Sewell had no idea the entire country was glued to live footage of the pursuit.

“There still has never been anything like that in the last 25 years,” the retired officer told The Post. “The circus that it became, it was one time only.”

When he left the office late on June 17, 1994, Sewell soon heard on the radio that another officer, Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Pool, spotted the infamous 1993 Bronco around a mile away from him.

Simpson was wanted in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, both of whom were discovered stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles condo five days earlier.

The ex-NFL legend remained in the back seat of the white Bronco as his longtime pal and former teammate, Al “A.C.” Cowlings, drove down a Southern California interstate.

“When we pulled in, Al Cowlings actually stopped in the middle of the freeway right away,” Sewell said.

Sewell, now 65, ordered Cowlings to throw the keys out the window and exit the vehicle.

But Cowlings, who had his window open “started violently pounding the side of the car.” He refused to turn off the vehicle and told cops that Simpson was inside with a gun to his head.

“He was telling me in no uncertain times that he wasn’t going to [surrender Simpson] … and there might have been some expletive thrown in there,” Sewell said. “He was hitting the Bronco so hard, the car was shaking.”

Sewell took over the lead in the pursuit as the white Bronco continued on well under the speed limit. “You always get a shot of adrenaline when there’s any type of pursuit, but at 45 miles per hour you don’t get a lot of adrenaline,” he said.

The chase’s leisurely speed even gave him time to place a call to his wife. “I asked her if the pursuit was on TV and I go ‘well that’s me,’ ” Sewell said.

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Up above the convoy of police cars, there were six news choppers circling the chase to provide a live feed, which cut into coverage of the New York Knicks taking on the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals.

“While it was happening … I didn’t know about it being broadcast across the nation,” he said. “I didn’t know we had interrupted Game 5 of the NBA playoffs.”

Soon, fans started to line the freeway and overpasses to cheer on “The Juice” with signs.

“To me, it was like what the heck is going on,” Sewell said. “You got a guy who is wanted for the brutal murder of two people and you’ve got people with signs that say ‘Go Juice.’ ”

Simpson eventually made his way back with Cowlings to his Brentwood mansion, where officers negotiated for the former NFL star to surrender.

“When he got to the driveway, it was the first time we saw [Simpson] and I saw him get up in the back seat with the gun and I thought he was going to commit suicide,” Sewell said.

The two-hour, 60-mile chase was over but the media spectacle has endured.

“I was involved in incidents that were a lot more dramatic and lot scarier, but nothing has been big media-wise or worldwide as this thing has,” Sewell said.

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