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Guards were stationed at the top of the Main and Commerce Streets auto ramps leading down into the basement, at each of the five doorways into the garage, and at the double doors leading to the public hallway adjacent to the jail office. Then, Sgt. Patrick T. Dean, acting under instructions from Talbert, directed 14 men in a search of the garage. Maintenance workers were directed to leave the area.
The searchers examined the rafters, tops of air conditioning ducts, and every closet and room opening off the garage. They searched the interior and trunk compartment of automobiles parked in the garage. The two passenger elevators in the central part of the garage were not in service and the doors were shut and locked; the service elevator was moved to the first floor, and the operator was instructed not to return it to the basement.
Testimony did not resolve positively whether or not the stairway door near the public elevators was locked both from the inside and outside as was necessary to secure it effectively.
Until seconds before Oswald was shot, newsmen hurrying to photograph Oswald were able to run without challenge through those doors into the basement. Later, the police permitted the newsmen to stand in front of the railing on the east side of the ramp leading to Main Street. The policemen deployed by Talbert and Dean had instructions to allow no one but identified news media representatives into the basement. As before, the police accepted any credentials that appeared authentic, though some officers did make special efforts to check for pictures and other forms of corroborating identification.
Many newsmen reported that they were checked on more than one occasion while they waited in the basement. A small number did not recall that their credentials were ever checked. Curry observed that in other respects Captain Talbert appeared to have security measures in hand and allowed him to proceed on his own initiative. Batchelor and Page Stevenson checked progress in the basement during the course of the morning, and the officials were generally satisfied with the steps Talbert had taken.
Jones of the forgery bureau bring all available detectives from the third floor offices to the basement. Jones instructed the detectives who accompanied him to the basement to line the walls on either side of the passageway cleared for the transfer party.
Captain Jones explained to us that, when they brought the prisoner out, that he wanted two lines formed and we were to keep these two lines formed: you know, a barrier on either side of them, kind of an aisle Jones recalled that he instructed all newsmen along the Main Street ramp to remain behind an imaginary line extending from the southeast corner of the jail office to the railing on the east side of the ramp; other officers recalled that Jones directed the newsmen to move away from the foot of the Main Street ramp and to line up against the east railing.
In any event, newsmen were allowed to congregate along the foot of the ramp after Batchelor observed that there was insufficient room along the east of the ramp to permit all the news representatives to see Oswald as he was brought out. Three television cameras stood along the railing and most of the newsmen were congregated in that area and at the top of the adjacent decline leading into the garage.
A group of newsmen and police officers, best estimated at about 20, stood strung across the bottom of the Main Street ramp. Along the south wall of the passageway outside the jail office door were about eight detectives, and three detectives lined the north wall. Two officers stood in front of the double doors leading into the passageway from the corridor next to the jail office. Beginning Saturday night, the public had been kept informed of the approximate time of the transfer. At approximately a.
Curry told a press conference that Oswald would be moved in an armored truck and gave a general description of other security precautions.
Page that the transfer was imminent if they caught a glimpse through the glass windows of Oswald putting on a sweater in Captain Fritz' office. Batchelor and others then inspected the inside of the truck.
At this point, Fritz learned for the first time of the plan to convey Oswald by armored truck and immediately expressed his disapproval. He urged the use of an unmarked police car driven by a police officer, pointing out that this would be better from the standpoint of both speed and maneuverability.
Curry agreed to Fritz' plan; the armored truck would be used as a decoy. They decided that the armored truck would leave the ramp first, followed by a car which would contain only security officers. A police car bearing Oswald would follow. After proceeding one block, the car with Oswald would turn off and proceed directly to the county jail; the armored truck would follow a lead car to the jail along the previously agreed upon and more circuitous route.
Brown and C. Dhority and a third detective to proceed to the garage and move the follow-up car and the transfer car into place on the auto ramp. He told Lt. Rio S. Pierce to obtain another automobile from the basement and take up a lead position on Commerce Street. Baker called the jail office to check on security precautions in the basement and notify officials that the prisoner was being brought down. James A. Putnam and Billy Joe Maxey to accompany him in the lead car.
Since the armored truck was blocking the Commerce Street ramp, it would be necessary to drive out the Main Street ramp and circle the block to Commerce Street. Maxey sat on the back seat of Pierce's car, and Putnam helped clear a path through reporters on the ramp so that Pierce could drive up toward Main Street. When the car passed by the reporters at about a. Vaughn stepped from his position at the top of the ramp toward the street to watch for traffic.
Dhority also proceeded to drive the follow-up car into position ahead of Brown. Cameramen in the hallway of the basement took pictures of Oswald through the interior glass windows of the jail office as he was led through the office to the exit.
When Fritz came to the jail office door, he asked if everything was ready, and a detective standing in the passageway answered yes. A detective stepped from the jail office and proceeded toward the transfer car.
Graves at his left, and Detective L. Montgomery at his rear, came through the door. Fritz walked to Brown's car, which had not yet backed fully into position; Oswald followed a few feet behind. Newsmen near the double door moved forward after him.
According to Detective Montgomery, who was walking directly behind Oswald, soon as we came out this door Combest, standing on the Commerce Street side of the passageway from the jail office door, it appeared that Almost the whole line of people pushed forward when Oswald started to leave the jail office, the door, the hall--all the newsmen were poking their sound mikes across to him and asking questions, and they were everyone sticking their flashbulbs up and around and over him and in his face.
With his right hand extended and holding a. Page immediate speculation that one or more members of the police department provided Jack Ruby assistance which had enabled him to enter the basement and approach within a few feet of the accused Presidential assassin. In chapter VI, the Commission has considered whether there is any evidence linking Jack Ruby with a conspiracy to kill the President.
At this point, however, it is appropriate to consider whether there is evidence that Jack Ruby received assistance from Dallas policemen or others in gaining access to the basement on the morning of November An affirmative answer would require that the evidence be evaluated for possible connection with the assassination itself.
While the Commission has found no evidence that Ruby received assistance from any person in entering the basement, his means of entry is significant in evaluating the adequacy of the precautions taken to protect Oswald. Although more than a hundred policemen and newsmen were present in the basement of police headquarters during the 10 minutes before the shooting of Oswald, none has been found who definitely observed Jack Ruby's entry into the basement.
After considering all the evidence, the Commission has concluded that Ruby entered the basement unaided, probably via the Main Street ramp, and no more than 3 minutes before the shooting of Oswald. Ruby's account of how he entered the basement by the Main Street ramp merits consideration in determining his means of entry. Three Dallas policemen testified that approximately 80 minutes after his arrest, Ruby told them that he had walked to the top of the Main Street ramp from the nearby Western Union office and that he walked down the ramp at the time the police car driven by Lieutenant Pierce emerged into Main Street.
Minutes before Oswald appeared in the basement, Ruby was in the Western Union office located on the same block of Main Street some feet from the top of the Main Street ramp.
The time stamp on a money order which he sent and on the receipt found in his pocket establish that the order was accepted for transmission at almost exactly a.
Ruby was then observed to depart the office walking in the direction of the police building. They also show Ruby standing at the foot of the ramp on the Main Street side before the shooting. The shooting occurred very close to a. Page of Oswald in the basement jail office, and by records giving the time of Oswald's departure from the city jail and the time at which an ambulance was summoned for Oswald.
At normal stride, it requires approximately 1 minute to walk from that office to the top of the Main Street ramp and about seconds to descend the ramp. This timetable indicates that a little more than 2 of the 4 minutes between Ruby's departure from the Western Union office and the time of the shooting are unaccounted for.
Ruby could have consumed this time in loitering along the way, at the top of the ramp, or inside the basement. However, if Ruby is correct that he passed Pierce's car at the top of the ramp, he could have been in the basement no more than 30 seconds before the shooting. James Turner, an employee of WBAP-TV Fort Worth, testified that while he was standing near the railing on the east side of the Main Street ramp, perhaps 30 seconds before the shooting, he observed a man he is confident was Jack Ruby moving slowly down the Main Street ramp about 10 feet from the bottom.
A former police officer, N. Daniels, who was standing at the top of the ramp with the single patrolman guarding this entrance, R. Vaughn, testified that "3 or 4 minutes, I guess" before the shooting, a man walked down the Main Street ramp in full view of Vaughn but was not stopped or questioned by the officer.
Daniels did not identify the man as Ruby. Moreover, he gave a description which differed in important respects from Ruby's appearance on November 24, and he has testified that he doesn't think the man was Ruby.
Patrolman Vaughn stated that he checked the credentials of all unknown persons seeking to enter the basement, and his testimony was supported by several persons. Two Dallas detectives believed they observed three men pushing a WBAP-TV camera into the basement minutes before the shooting, while only two were with the camera after Oswald had been shot. The possibility that Ruby entered the basement by some other route has been investigated, but the Commission has found no evidence to support it.
Ruby could have walked from the Western Union office to the Commerce Street ramp on the other side of the building in about 2 and a half minutes. See Commission Exhibit. Several policemen were standing near the truck and a large crowd of spectators was gathered across the street. If Ruby entered by any other means, he would have had to pass first through the Police and Courts Building or the attached Municipal Building, and then secondly through one of the five doors into the basement, all of which, according to the testimony of police officers, were secured.
The testimony was not completely positive about one of the doors. Police found no form of press card on Ruby's person after his apprehension, nor any discarded badges within the basement. All entered on official police business and considerably more than 4 minutes before Oswald was shot. As the record before the Commission indicated, Ruby had rather free access to the Dallas police quarters during the period subsequent to the assassination, but there was no evidence that implicated the police or newsmen in Ruby's actions on that day.
According to testimony from many sources, he gave free coffee at his clubs to many policemen while they were on duty and free admittance and discounts on beverages when they were off duty.
The Commission found no substantial evidence that any member of the Dallas Police Department recognized Jack Ruby as an unauthorized person in the basement prior to the time Sgt.
Dean, according to his testimony, saw Ruby dart forward toward Oswald. But Dean was then part way up the Commerce Street ramp, too far removed to act. Harrison, Capt. Glen King, and reserve officers Capt.
Arnett and Patrolman W. Croy were among those in front of Ruby at the time Dean saw him. They all faced away from Ruby, toward the jail office. From at least a. He apparently left his apartment between and 11 a. Moreover, the television and radio publicized Page the transfer plans throughout the morning, obviating the need for Ruby to obtain information surreptitiously. In assessing the causes of the security failure, the Commission has not overlooked the extraordinary circumstances which prevailed during the.
Confronted with a unique situation, the Dallas police took special security measures to insure Oswald's safety. Unfortunately these did not include adequate control of the great crowd of newsmen that inundated the police department building. The Dallas police had in custody a man whose alleged act had brought upon him immediate and universal opprobrium.
There were many possible reasons why people might have attempted to kill him if given the opportunity. Curry does not recall receiving the message. That policy, set forth in General Order No. It does not state that the Officer may, if he so chooses, assist the press.
It rather places on him a responsibility to lend active assistance. It is the right of the public to know about these affairs, and one of the most accurate and useful avenues we have of supplying this information is through the newspapers and radio and television stations. Implied in the General Order is a prohibition for the Officer to improperly attempt to interfere with the news media representative, Page who is functioning in his capacity as such.
Such activity on the part of any Police Officer is regarded by the press as an infringement of rights, and the Department shares this view. The first newsmen to arrive on Friday afternoon were admitted in accordance with the policy; others who came later simply followed behind them. Shortly after Oswald arrived, Captain King granted permission to bring television cameras to the third floor.
No one suggested reversing the department's policy expressed in General Order No. Chief Curry testified that at no time did he consider clearing the crowd from the building; he "saw no particular harm in allowing the media to observe the prisoner. Few, if any, thought this at the time. The decision to allow newsmen to observe the transfer on Sunday followed naturally the policy established during these first 2 days of Oswald's detention.
The reporters and cameramen descended upon the third floor of the Police and Courts Building in such numbers that the pressroom on the third floor proved wholly inadequate. Rather than the "two or three or maybe a half dozen reporters" who normally appeared to cover local police stories, the police were faced with upward of Bringing with them cameras, microphones, cables, and spotlights, the newsmen inevitably spilled over into areas where they interfered with the transaction of police business and the maintenance of security.
Therefore, it was impossible for the police to verify quickly the identity of this great number of unfamiliar people who appeared almost simultaneously. Although steps were taken on Friday afternoon to insure that persons seeking entry to the third floor were there for a legitimate purpose, Page reasons could be fabricated. Moreover, because of the large crowd, it was easier for unauthorized persons to slip by those guarding the entrances.
Jack Ruby, for one, was able to gain entry to the third-floor corridor on Friday night. No thought seems to have been given, however, to the possibility of questioning Oswald on some other floor.
The assembly of more than 70 police officers, some of them armed with tear gas, and the contemplated use of an armored truck, appear to have been designed primarily to repel an attempt of a mob to seize the prisoner. For example, the acceptance of inadequate press credentials posed a clear avenue for a one-man assault. The likelihood of an unauthorized person obtaining entry by such means is confirmed not alone by the fact that Jack Ruby managed to get by a guard at one entrance.
Several newsmen related that their credentials were not checked as they entered the basement Sunday morning. Seconds before Oswald was shot, the double doors from the hallway next to the jail office afforded a means of entry to the basement without presentation of credentials earlier demanded of newsmen. While Jack Ruby might have been easily spotted if only police officers had been in the basement, he remained apparently unnoticed in the crowd of newsmen until he lunged forward toward Oswald.
The near-blinding television and motion picture lights which were allowed to shine upon the escort party further increased the difficulty of observing unusual movements in the basement. Moreover, by making public the plans for the transfer, the police attracted to the city jail many persons who otherwise might not have learned of the move until it had been completed. This group included the onlookers gathered on Commerce Street and a few people on Main Street.
Also, continuous television and radio coverage of Page the activities in the basement might have resulted in compromise of the transfer operation. These risks to Oswald's safety, growing in part out of adherence to the general policy of the police department, were also accepted for other reasons. Many members of the police department believed that the extraordinary public attention aroused by the tragic death of President Kennedy obliged them to make special efforts to accommodate the press.
Captain King carefully articulated one reason why the newsmen were permitted We felt it was mandatory that as many people knew about it as possible. We knew, too, that if we did exclude the newsmen, we would be leaving ourselves open to a charge that we were using improper action, duress, physical abuse, all of these things. The public could have been assured that the prisoner was not mistreated and that his rights were fully respected by the police, without each one of hundreds of cameramen and reporters being permitted to satisfy himself that the police had not abused the prisoner.
This result could have been accomplished by obtaining reports from members of the family who visited him, or by a committee of the bar or other substantial citizens of the community. The slain president had been assassinated more than three years earlier, on November 22, Although JFK never specified Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. While the election was a victory for Gorbachev, it also revealed serious weaknesses in his power base that would eventually lead to the collapse of his On March 14, , Alexander Hamilton receives his commission as captain of a New York artillery company.
Throughout the rest of , Captain Hamilton established himself as a great military leader as he directed his artillery company in several battles in and around New York Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Art, Literature, and Film History.
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