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Jim Leavelle

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Jim Leavelle
Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. Leavelle is wearing the tan suit.
Born
James Robert Leavelle

(1920-08-23) August 23, 1920 (age 104)
Red River County, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Signature

James Robert Leavelle (born August 23, 1920) is a former Dallas, Texas, homicide detective. On November 24 1963, Leavelle became renowned, when he was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby.

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

After World War II ended, Leavelle began a career as a homicide detective. He joined the Dallas Police Department in April 1950 and retired in April 1975.[2][3]

Kennedy and Oswald

Ted Callaway's testimony before the Warren Commission, explained to Counsel Joseph Ball that when he and Sam Guinyard were waiting to view the line-up of Oswald, detective Jim Leavelle told them, "We want to be sure, we want to try to wrap him up real tight on killing this officer. We think he is the same one that shot the President. But if we can wrap him up tight on killing this officer, we have got him."[4]

Two days after Kennedy was assassinated, Leavelle was escorting the suspect Lee Harvey Oswald through the Dallas Police Headquarters. Oswald was handcuffed between Leavelle and L. C. Graves (1918–1995) as he was being led through the basement of the building to an armored car for the short trip to the county jail. Jack Ruby then stepped from the crowd and fatally shot Oswald at point-blank range. The shooting was broadcast live nationally, and millions of television viewers witnessed it. Several photographs—including one that won a Pulitzer Prize—were taken of Oswald just before Ruby pulled the trigger. The photos show Leavelle wearing a tan suit, in sharp contrast to the other detective (L. C. Graves), who is wearing a black suit.

On March 25, 1964, Leavelle provided testimony to Warren Commission assistant counsel Leon Hubert.[5] He provided additional testimony to assistant counsel Joseph Ball on April 7.[6]

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..."[6]

Leavelle supports the official conclusion that Oswald acted alone, and has also refuted conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination.[1]

Other

Years later, Leavelle said that he was the first to interrogate Oswald after his arrest (contrary to his Warren Commission testimony). He also 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 never mentioned any such thing back in 1963, and his claim that he did was spoken years after Oswald's death. There is no corroboration for any of this from anyone else who was with Leavelle or Oswald, not from L.C. Graves (who was also handcuffed to Oswald) or Captain Will Fritz (who was leading them). No mention of any light hearted banter whatsoever. From the footage that is available when they are coming out, not much was being said at all.

Dr. Robert McClelland, who treated Oswald at Parkland Hospital, after he was shot, said that he noticed that Leavelle was waiting outside the hospital room and said 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."[7]

Leavelle accidentally shot Bob Porter.http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/L%20Disk/Leavelle%20James/Item%2002.pdf

Leavelle later said to author Joseph McBride (writer) 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.[8]

Exhibits

The tan suit Leavelle wore on November 24, 1963, the handcuffs used to restrain Lee Harvey Oswald and the grey fedora Jack Ruby wore when he shot Oswald are now on display at the Sixth Floor Museum, in the same spot from which Oswald fired his rifle at President Kennedy, according to five government investigations.[9]

Leavelle has appeared in numerous documentaries about the assassination. He appeared as himself in the 1978 made-for-television movie, Ruby and Oswald.

Leavelle was the basis for the character Leavelle, who trains Homer Simpson at "Leavelle's Bodyguard Academy, "in The Simpsons' episode Mayored to the Mob. Leavelle is based on Leavelle, as he appeared when escorting Oswald when Oswald was shot by Ruby. Leavelle was voiced by Mark Hamill.[10] Leavelle trains the bodyguards by pretending to shoot their protectee from a grassy knoll on a cart. This is a reference to the grassy knoll at the site of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Dealey Plaza and a scene from the Kennedy assassination film Executive Action (1973).[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c Brokaw, Tom (December 7, 2006). "Pearl Harbor survivor witnesses history — twice". MSNBC.com.
  2. ^ "Warren Commission, Volume VII: James R. Leavelle" (PDF). Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  3. ^ Stengle, Jamie (May 14, 2013). "Dallas police honor detective cuffed to Oswald". Associated Press.
  4. ^ Myers, Dale K. (1998). With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit. Milford, Mich.: Oak Cliff Press. p. 485. ISBN 0-9662709-7-5.
  5. ^ "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= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ 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= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Mooney, Michael J. (November 2008). "The Day Kennedy Died". D Magazine. Dallas, Tex. Retrieved November 24, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  8. ^ DiEugenio, James (September 20, 2016). Reclaiming Parkland: Tom Hanks, Vincent Bugliosi, and the JFK Assassination in the New Hollywood. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. p. 251. ISBN 9781510707771.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ^ "John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation - The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza".
  10. ^ a b Hauge, Ron (2007). The Simpsons The Complete Tenth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Mayored to the Mob" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
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