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

第五章

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.