Three years ago today, I submitted a University paper on my systematic approach to the Warren Commission (hereafter WC) Hearings and Exhibits, with a focus on the Dallas Police. (I got an A on that paper.) This new section of Blog posts builds on that approach, by adding my opinion about the identity of JFK plotters within the Dallas Police Department.
I thank Jason Ward for supporting my speculations by building this web site to focus on this new CT, and for his elaboration, which he publicized more than a year ago on the JFK Education Forum. He's the only guy on the EF who stood by me through thick and thin.
This section on the Dallas Police will take several months, because there are 43 Dallas Police to cover. I don’t count all of them as JFK plotters, yet I'll name them all in order to show why some were innocent while others were guilty. Further, among the guilty, I will strive to show a difference of degree of participation – from minimal awareness to full awareness – of a Dallas plot to kill President JFK.
STEP ONE: NAME THE DALLAS POLICE WHO TESTIFIED FOR THE WC
First, I will provide a birds-eye view of all 43 Dallas policemen who testified to the WC. Let’s look at their names and their DPD departments on 11/22/1963 in Dallas:
DPD Headquarters (9):
Chief Jesse Curry, Inspector J. Herbert Sawyer, Don Ables (jail clerk), Earle Brown, Richard Clark, J.W. Foster, Gerald Henslee (radio dispatcher), W.E. Perry, and J.C. White.
DPD Homicide (15):
Captain Will Fritz, Lieutenant T.L. Baker, John Adamcik, Elmer Boyd, C.W. Brown, Bob Carroll, C.N. Dhority, Marvin Johnson, James Leavelle, Henry Moore, Walter Potts, Guy Rose, Richard Sims, Richard Stovall, and F.M. Turner.
DPD Traffic and Accident – Motorcycle Patrol (8):
Captain Perdue Lawrence, Marrion Baker, E.D. Brewer, Bobby Hargis, Clyde Haygood, Thomas Hutson, Billy Martin, and Joe Murphy.
DPD Traffic and Accident – Foot Patrol (6):
Sergeant D.V. Harkness, Welcome Barnett, Ray Hawkins, Edgar Smith, Joe Smith, and C.T. Walker.
DPD Identification Bureau Detectives (3):
Lieutenant J.C. Day, Robert Studebaker, and J.B. Hicks.
DPD Personnel Department (2):
Captain W.R. Westbrook and Sergeant Gerald Hill
The 43 men named above will receive my remarks regarding their WC testimony, which is in the public domain. None of the material that I cite about these Dallas policemen is private in any way. This is all public information.
STEP TWO: POSITIONS OF THESE POLICEMENT AT 12:25 PM 11/22/1963
Next, let's look at where each of these 43 men were physically standing or sitting at the moment of the JFK shooting. There are three principal geographic areas to cover: (i) officers inside the JFK motorcade; (ii) officers stationed on foot around Dealey Plaza, monitoring street traffic; and (ii) officers on duty or off duty, who were frantically pulled into duty at the moment of crisis.
(2.1) The Motorcade.
The motorcade was up to ten blocks long (see the book, PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE SCHEMATIC LISTING NOVEMBER 22, 1963 DALLAS, TEXAS, by Todd Wayne Vaughan for a full listing of personnel and their positions), yet the WC was most interested in witnesses closest to Dealey Plaza at the moment of the JFK assassination. The following eight Dallas policemen were riding in the motorcade close to the JFK limousine:
DPD Chief Jesse Curry – (Lead Car driver)
DPD Captain Perdue Lawrence – (Advance Car driver)
F.M. Turner – (Pilot Car)
Buddy Brewer – (Lead Motorcycle squad)
Bobby Hargis – (Presidential Motorcycle squad)
Billy Martin – (Presidential Motorcycle squad)
Marrion Baker – (Forward Mid-Motorcade Motorcycle squad)
Clyde Haygood – (Mid-Motorcade Motorcycle squad)
(2.2.) Foot Patrol:
The following Dallas policemen were stationed around Dealey Plaza on foot, to direct traffic. The following eight Dallas policemen were immediately watching Dealey Plaza:
DPD Sgt. D.V. Harkness -- (Corner of Main and the west side of Houston)
DPD Joe Smith -- (Corner of Elm and Houston)
DPD Welcome Barnett -- (Elm in front of the TSBD)
DPD Edgar Smith -- (40 feet south of Elm on the east curb of Houston)
DPD Earl Brown -- (at Stemmons Freeway, at Elm and the RR Underpass)
DPD J.W. Foster -- (at Stemmons Freeway, at Elm and the RR Underpass)
DPD J.C White -- (at Stemmons Freeway, at Elm and the RR Underpass)
DPD Joe Murphy -- (at Stemmons Freeway, at Elm and the RR Underpass)
The next three Dallas policemen were stationed along the parade route on Main Street, often several blocks away, but they were called very early to respond to the scene of the crime:
DPD Bob Carroll -- (Main Street, 700 block)
DPD Thomas Hutson -- (Main and Ervay Streets)
DPD Inspector Herbert Sawyer -- (Main, from Akard to Harwood Streets)
(2.3.) Away from Dealey Plaza:
The following Dallas policemen were at their desks or otherwise off-duty, and frantically pulled into duty at the moment of crisis. Thirteen were from the Homicide Bureau alone, at the following positions at 12:25 pm on 11/22/1963:
Captain Will Fritz -- (at the Trademart)
Elmer Boyd -- (at the Trademart)
Richard Sims -- (at the Trademart)
C.W. Brown -- (at Headquarters)
James Leavelle -- (at Headquarters)
T.L. Baker -- (at Headquarters)
Marvin Johnson -- (at Headquarters)
C.N. Dhority -- (Off duty)
Richard Stovall -- (Off duty)
Walter Eugene Potts -- (Off duty)
John Adamcik -- (Off duty)
Henry Moore -- (Off duty)
Guy Rose -- (Off duty)
The following eleven were from other departments, and they would be called into service unexpectedly and urgently:
J.C. Day -- (at desk in the ID Bureau Office)
Robert Studebaker -- (at desk in the ID Bureau Office)
J.B. Hicks -- (off duty from the ID Bureau Office)
Gerald Hill -- (at desk in the DPD Personnel Office)
W.R. Westbrook -- (at desk in the DPD Personnel Office)
W.E. Perry -- (at the Vice Squad Office)
Richard Clark -- (at the Vice Squad Office)
Ray Hawkins -- (at the Traffic Desk)
Gerald Henslee -- (at the Radio Dispatch Desk)
Don Ables -- (at the City Jail)
CT Walker -- (10th Street Firestation at Oakcliff)
So, today we have identified all 43 of the Dallas Police who testified to the WC, and who took some role at or near Dealey Plaza on the day JFK was killed there. We have also identified their DPD Department, and their physical position five minutes before JFK was assassinated.
In the months to come, I will riff through the WC testimony of all of these 43 men, and offer my opinion about their possible role in a Dallas plot to assassinate JFK.
Best regards,
--Paul Trejo