Jim Leavelle: Difference between revisions
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→Kennedy and Oswald: Removed hearsay (i.e. McClelland said Leavelle said Oswald said) that doesn't really add to the discussion about allegations of conspiracy made by Oswald or made about Oswald. Added cite request to another statement. Tags: references removed Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
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===Kennedy and Oswald=== |
===Kennedy and Oswald=== |
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On March 25, 1964, Leavelle provided testimony to [[Warren Commission]] assistant counsel Leon Hubert.<ref name="WCH-XII">{{cite book |title=Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Volume XIII |url=http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=47#relPageId=1&tab=page |year=1964 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=14–21 |chapter=Testimony of James Robert Levelle |chapterurl=http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=47#relPageId=24&tab=page |ref={{harvid|Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Volume XIII|1964}}}}</ref> He provided additional testimony to assistant counsel Joseph Ball on April 7.<ref name="WCH-VII"/> |
On March 25, 1964, Leavelle provided testimony to [[Warren Commission]] assistant counsel Leon Hubert.<ref name="WCH-XII">{{cite book |title=Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Volume XIII |url=http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=47#relPageId=1&tab=page |year=1964 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=14–21 |chapter=Testimony of James Robert Levelle |chapterurl=http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=47#relPageId=24&tab=page |ref={{harvid|Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Volume XIII|1964}}}}</ref> He provided additional testimony to assistant counsel Joseph Ball on April 7.<ref name="WCH-VII"/> |
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In a 2006 interview, Leavelle said that he was the first to interrogate Oswald after his arrest (contrary to his Warren Commission testimony); he said that he joked with Oswald before the transfer, saying "Lee, if anybody shoots at you, I hope they're as good a shot as you are," meaning that the person would hit Oswald instead of Leavelle. Oswald smiled and said, "You're being melodramatic. Nobody's going to shoot at me."<ref name="msnbc"/> |
In a 2006 interview, Leavelle said that he was the first to interrogate Oswald after his arrest (contrary to his Warren Commission testimony); he said that he joked with Oswald before the transfer, saying "Lee, if anybody shoots at you, I hope they're as good a shot as you are," meaning that the person would hit Oswald instead of Leavelle. Oswald smiled and said, "You're being melodramatic. Nobody's going to shoot at me."<ref name="msnbc"/> |
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Leavelle said in a 2013 interview that the way Oswald acted "was not the actions of someone who just killed the most powerful man on the planet." |
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Leavelle believes that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, and said in a 2006 discussion, that he was told by Oswald's brother Robert that he believes the same thing, "because I knew my brother."<ref name="msnbc"/> Leavelle has also refuted [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination]]. He does not believe that Oswald and Ruby knew each other or that Oswald recognized Ruby before he was shot; "Some people have said that they could tell by the expression on Oswald's face that he knew Ruby when Ruby lunged forward at him with a gun. Oswald didn't recognize Ruby, he recognized the sight of a gun and showed fear of that." |
Leavelle believes that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, and said in a 2006 discussion, that he was told by Oswald's brother Robert that he believes the same thing, "because I knew my brother."<ref name="msnbc"/> Leavelle has also refuted [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination]]. He does not believe that Oswald and Ruby knew each other or that Oswald recognized Ruby before he was shot; "Some people have said that they could tell by the expression on Oswald's face that he knew Ruby when Ruby lunged forward at him with a gun. Oswald didn't recognize Ruby, he recognized the sight of a gun and showed fear of that." |
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Leavelle later said to author Joseph McBride that to him, the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy|murder of President John F. Kennedy]] was "no different than a south Dallas [[nigger]] killing".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eugenio |first1=James Di |title=Reclaiming Parkland: Tom Hanks, Vincent Bugliosi, and the JFK Assassination in the New Hollywood |date=September 20, 2016 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. |isbn=9781510707771 |page=251 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DNaLDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT251 |language=en}}</ref> |
Leavelle later said to author Joseph McBride that to him, the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy|murder of President John F. Kennedy]] was "no different than a south Dallas [[nigger]] killing". This remark reveals that Leavelle was a racist who was not really concerned about who killed President Kennedy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eugenio |first1=James Di |title=Reclaiming Parkland: Tom Hanks, Vincent Bugliosi, and the JFK Assassination in the New Hollywood |date=September 20, 2016 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. |isbn=9781510707771 |page=251 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DNaLDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT251 |language=en}}</ref> |
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Dr. Robert McClelland, who treated Oswald after he was shot, noticed Leavelle waiting outside the hospital room and says that Leavelle told him that after Oswald was shot, he claimed to have "leaned over Oswald and said, 'Son, you're hurt real bad. Do you wanna say anything?' He looked at me for a second. He waited, like he was thinking. Then he shook his head back and forth just as wide as he could. Then he closed his eyes."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2008/november/the-day-kennedy-died/|title=The Day Kennedy Died|publisher=}}</ref> |
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==Legacy== |
==Legacy== |
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Revision as of 09:58, 25 October 2017
Jim Leavelle | |
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 Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. Leavelle is at the left side of the photograph, in the light suit. | |
| Born | James Robert Leavelle August 23, 1920 |
| Nationality | American |
| Signature | |
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James Robert Leavelle (born August 23, 1920) is a World War II veteran and the former Dallas, Texas, homicide detective who was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. Widely distributed photographs of Oswald shortly before the shooting, depict Leavelle standing to Oswald's right and wearing a light-colored suit with matching hat.
Early life and military service
Leavelle was born and raised in Red River County, Texas. He served in the United States Navy during World War II, and was a sailor on board the USS Whitney during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.[1]
Police career
Leavelle became a homicide detective after World War II ended. He joined the Dallas Police Department in April 1950 and retired in April 1975.[2][3]
Kennedy and Oswald
On November 24th 1963, Leavelle was escorting the suspect Lee Harvey Oswald through the Dallas Police Headquarters. Handcuffed to Oswald, Leavelle led Oswald towards an escort car through the basement of the Dallas Police Department, where Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald.
On March 25, 1964, Leavelle provided testimony to Warren Commission assistant counsel Leon Hubert.[4] He provided additional testimony to assistant counsel Joseph Ball on April 7.[5]
When Leavelle testified before the Warren Commission, he claimed that the first time he had ever sat in on an interrogation with Oswald was on Sunday morning, November 24, 1963. When Counsel Joseph Ball asked Leavelle if he had ever spoken to Oswald before this interrogation, he stated; "No, I had never talked to him before". Leavelle then stated during his testimony that "the only time I had connections with Oswald was this Sunday morning [November 24, 1963]. I never had [the] occasion to talk with him at any time..."[5]
In a 2006 interview, Leavelle said that he was the first to interrogate Oswald after his arrest (contrary to his Warren Commission testimony); he said that he joked with Oswald before the transfer, saying "Lee, if anybody shoots at you, I hope they're as good a shot as you are," meaning that the person would hit Oswald instead of Leavelle. Oswald smiled and said, "You're being melodramatic. Nobody's going to shoot at me."[1]
Leavelle believes that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, and said in a 2006 discussion, that he was told by Oswald's brother Robert that he believes the same thing, "because I knew my brother."[1] Leavelle has also refuted conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination. He does not believe that Oswald and Ruby knew each other or that Oswald recognized Ruby before he was shot; "Some people have said that they could tell by the expression on Oswald's face that he knew Ruby when Ruby lunged forward at him with a gun. Oswald didn't recognize Ruby, he recognized the sight of a gun and showed fear of that."
Leavelle later said to author Joseph McBride that to him, the murder of President John F. Kennedy was "no different than a south Dallas nigger killing". This remark reveals that Leavelle was a racist who was not really concerned about who killed President Kennedy.[6]
Legacy
The suit Leavelle wore on November 24, 1963, the handcuffs used to restrain Lee Harvey Oswald and the grey fedora Jack Ruby wore when killing Oswald are now on display at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, Texas.[7]
References
- ^ a b c Brokaw, Tom (December 7, 2006). "Pearl Harbor survivor witnesses history — twice". MSNBC.com.
- ^ "Warren Commission, Volume VII: James R. Leavelle" (PDF). Retrieved October 2, 2012.
- ^ Stengle, Jamie (May 14, 2013). "Dallas police honor detective cuffed to Oswald". Associated Press.
- ^ "Testimony of James Robert Levelle". Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Volume XIII. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1964. pp. 14–21.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Testimony of James R. Levelle". Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Volume VII. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1964. pp. 260–270.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Eugenio, James Di (September 20, 2016). Reclaiming Parkland: Tom Hanks, Vincent Bugliosi, and the JFK Assassination in the New Hollywood. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. p. 251. ISBN 9781510707771.
- ^ "John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation - The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza".