Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

CHAPITRE V.

Chapter V examines the detention and death of Lee Harvey Oswald during the approximately 48 hours he spent at the Dallas Police and Courts Building between his arrest on November 22 and his shooting by Jack Ruby on November 24, 1963. Beyond the question of whether Oswald’s killing was part of a conspiracy with the assassination of President Kennedy, the events inside the building raise significant issues about law enforcement conduct, press responsibilities, the rights of the accused, and the administration of criminal justice. The Commission details Oswald’s treatment in custody, provides a chronology of his movements, describes the interrogation sessions, reviews the handling of his legal rights, and documents the overwhelming presence of newsmen on the third floor of the police department. Chapter V of the Warren Commission Report details the security arrangements and events surrounding Lee Harvey Oswald’s detention and transfer at the Dallas Police Department headquarters from Friday through Sunday morning. The chapter covers press credential procedures on the third floor, the presence of unauthorized individuals including Jack Ruby, Oswald’s repeated exposures to the press, the chaotic Friday night press conference, the decision-making process to transfer Oswald to the county jail, anonymous death threats received overnight, planning of the transfer route through the basement, and the security measures implemented in the basement area where Oswald would ultimately be shot during the transfer. On Sunday morning, Chief Curry informed a press conference at approximately 10:20 a.m. that Oswald would be transferred in an armored truck and outlined general security precautions, although the transfer route was withheld from newsmen and not disclosed to the truck driver until his arrival at the Commerce Street exit near 11:07 a.m. Because the driver feared the truck might stall on the ramp and that overhead clearance was inadequate, Assistant Chief Batchelor had it backed only into the top of the entranceway, prompting Captain Fritz—who learned of the armored truck plan only at that moment—to urge instead an unmarked police car for greater speed and maneuverability, a suggestion Curry accepted, converting the armored truck into a decoy that would leave first along a circuitous route while a police car carrying Oswald peeled off after one block and proceeded directly to the county jail. Detectives Brown, Dhority, and a third officer were instructed to position the followup and transfer cars on the auto ramp, Lieutenant Pierce obtained a lead vehicle from the basement for Commerce Street, and Oswald was given his sweater with his right hand handcuffed to Detective Leavelle’s left before the procession moved toward the Main Street ramp at about 11:20 a.m. When Fritz emerged from the jail office with Oswald and detectives Leavelle, Graves, and Montgomery, spotlights flared, the crowd of newsmen surged forward, and Jack Ruby slipped between a newsman and a detective at the edge of the straining line on the Main Street ramp, stepped quickly toward Oswald with a .38 caliber revolver extended in his right hand, and fired a single fatal bullet into Oswald’s abdomen.

CHAPITRE V.

Chapter V examines the detention and death of Lee Harvey Oswald during the approximately 48 hours he spent at the Dallas Police and Courts Building between his arrest on November 22 and his shooting by Jack Ruby on November 24, 1963. Beyond the question of whether Oswald’s killing was part of a conspiracy with the assassination of President Kennedy, the events inside the building raise significant issues about law enforcement conduct, press responsibilities, the rights of the accused, and the administration of criminal justice. The Commission details Oswald’s treatment in custody, provides a chronology of his movements, describes the interrogation sessions, reviews the handling of his legal rights, and documents the overwhelming presence of newsmen on the third floor of the police department.

Detention and Death of Oswald

Lee Harvey Oswald spent nearly all of his final 48 hours at the gray stone Police and Courts Building in downtown Dallas, which housed the Dallas Police Department headquarters and the city jail. After his arrest early Friday afternoon, he was brought immediately to this building and held there until Sunday morning, November 24, when he was scheduled for transfer to the county jail. At 11:21 a.m. that morning, in full view of millions of television viewers, Oswald was fatally shot by Jack Ruby, who emerged suddenly from a crowd of newsmen and police and fired a single shot during the transfer. The question of whether Oswald’s killing was part of a conspiracy involving the assassination is addressed in chapter VI, but the events of November 22–24 also raise broader issues concerning law enforcement conduct, press responsibilities, the rights of the accused, and criminal justice administration, prompting the Commission to establish the facts and evaluate the actions of police and press involved.