Living History with James "Jim" Leavelle
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2014
- The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza presented an interview between retired Dallas Police homicide detective James "Jim" Leavelle and Museum Curator Gary Mack. Their conversation explored what happened when Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot suspect Lee Harvey Oswald at the Dallas City Jail on November 24, 1963. Leavelle was handcuffed to Oswald at the time and helped to wrestle Ruby to the ground. Leavelle was immortalized in Bob Jackson's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of the incident, which was also captured on live television.
This presentation took place at the Museum on November 19, 2008 as part of the Museum's 45th Anniversary program series. To see related films, photos, documents and oral histories from The Sixth Floor Museum's collection, visit our online collections database (emuseum.jfk.org). Or make a research appointment to explore the books, DVDs and other materials available in the Museum's Reading Room
I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Leavelle some years back. He was in his 90’s ….still very serious…..still no nonsense. God bless the man. He was present during two of the most dire events in US history. May he RIP. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
This is a FANTASTIC series. Very valuable eyewitness insights to history. It's unfortunate that the audio quality is less than perfect (which I've noticed in several of the segments).
In a Simpsons episode, Homer attends a bodyguard camp named after Leavelle. I fell on the floor laughing.
What episode was thet
RIP Mr. Leavelle. You are missed!
Gary Mack went from being a Real researcher to a Curator paid $250k a year and changed his tune. $$$$$ talked.
That part about Gary Mack always bothered me .from one side to another with a huge paycheck. Something is really wrong .
It’s almost like he changed his opinion like many people do
Thank you, it was very interesting.
I’m glad he lived on for many years 99 a good age RIP Jim
All that interrogation and no notes or recordings made? Why would you destroy your notes of the most important case of this century?
They were told to after they had written thier final report.
If they were "told to", then the question is WHY were they told to? Notes on the most famous killing in America, the murder of an American president, and the notes from the interrogation are simply thrown away?!
Thats the way tge Dallas police worked in 1963 nothing sinister you can tell that is one honest man i think we can out to rest how Ruby got in that basement
Nobody destroyed notes Curry said in his Warren Commission testimony he didnt take any.But he does tell members of the commission exactly what Oswald said though not un any particular order.We do know what Oswald said I'll be able to answer any question you have because I have studied it extensively.
AT the time it was probably the simplest case in history in the Dallas cops minds and I might add anybody else's if they were to be honest. Hindsight is always 20/20
Today is his 100th birthday. Happy birthday sir.
Rest in peace to both men...very much involved in this case...
Great Stuff!
He's one of them
bingo
He mentioned what Oliver Stone did to make the movie more entertaining. Stone admitted he combined all of the conspiracy theories in one movie. Still, some people quote parts of that movie as fact. Some of the claims made in the movie range from ridiculous to outrageous.
Jim was my friend, he told me he refused to have us name in the credits because the movie was mostly fiction. Jim and Taimi called me their English daughter. 🙏🏻.
@@dianeadlington6597 thank you for sharing.
I'm glad he can tell his story on what happened on November 22nd 1963.
yes, but only what he wants to tell you
So is it your belief he’s not telling the truth?
@stehen of nofacts - supposition & theory is not evidence
Its a story alright!
Rest in peace
Leavelle has always stated that he caught a glimpse of Ruby in the crowd and saw he was holding a gun by his side. Leavelle says he SAW Ruby move towards Oswald and he attempted to pull Oswald away, that's why Oswald was shot more in the side instead of a straight gut shot. Well look at the still photos. Leavelle is NOT looking towards Ruby has he lunges at Oswald. He also stated they tried to make the line ups as fair as possible. Take a look at the pictures, hardly fair.
Leavelle said he could see out the corner of his eyes without having to actually look in that direction.
Leavelle was conducting the line up, he wasn't at all responsible for who would be in the lineup ....
You're a funny guy ;-)
@@kurtgreenwood5441 Who said he was responsible for who was in the lineup. He said they tried to make the lineups as fair as possible. If you look at the pictures, the lineups were hardly fair. Didn't say he was responsible for who was in them. His statement about the lineups being fair is not accurate. During one of the lineups, the individuals had to step forward and state where they work. On Nov. 22 & 23, if a person in a lineup stated in work at the TSBD, it might be a giveaway. Maybe listen and read more carefully.
@@patrickslevin6424 Please look at all of the visual evidence taken during the shooting. At no time does Levealle look towards Ruby or even in Ruby's direction. Oswald seemed to look at Ruby or in his direction but Levealle continued to look straight ahead. Oh and nice job protecting your suspect.
I KNOW, but he said he did.
What a great man, He has a big part in this historical event, I was curious if he also investigated the Shooting of J.R Ewing at South Fork in around 1980.
The Dallas opera singers association was right next to Tippets car and all 92 singers witnessed the fat , 6'3" man shoot Tippett. Oswald was 5'6" but that day he was wearing high heals that made him 9 inches taller. All 92 singers testified to the Warren, Dulles, Ford Commission. Oswald had 2 six shooters on his cowboy holster belt and used both to shoot Tippet 12 times in the head. 23 neighborhood witness all testified to the same thing. Case closed. Lee Harvey Oswald killed the President with an unsighted gun that is considered the least accurate gun ever made and cost $5.00 in 1963 at gun shows. But Lee overcame that obstacle because he was the greatest sniper ever in the history of the NAVY, where he worked cooking eggs.
@@mikehiggins946 Oswald was in the Marines, LMAO.
You are correct sir. I have suspected that, but thank you for confirming that for me.
Charles why in the world would this man give you the creeps that sf I uh md creepy to me
WOW, detective Leavelle is still alive? On the film of LHO getting shot Leavelle looks oldish even then, like 45, so I thought he'd be long dead or about 100yrs old?
He was 43 in 1963. This was filmed in 2008. He lived to be 99 and died in Aug of last year. Was in the news and everything.
Some persons, always look much older than they are.
So 45 is oldish, Lol. So you must be a teen.
@@leemoore9933 I thinkt he stresses of being in law enforcement takes a toll on most people...Leavelle did look older than he was...good for him, that he lived to such an age despite his profession!
i don't get it, he looked old in 63' already...how old he was in 2008?
he was 43 in 1963 and 88 in 2008, he died in 2019 aged 99.
He was 42 in 1963
Hey Dallas Oswald was getting death threats all saturday night so it was a real possibility I can see why he made the statement you schould do your homework before you make dumb comments
So sad the sound is really bad
Interesting
WHy would recording be prohibitied when they are recording it themselves?
You may not be aware it is the 6th floor museum policy to deny any photos, 📚 or film footage that challenges the single assassin (LHO) theory. I assisted Dr. Cyril Wecht in reviewing the autopsy evidence (He is the only non- Govt. Forensic Pathologist) immediately after the event to be officially asked to opine on the postmortem evidence. His summation is damning of the official conclusion of the Warren Commission.
Lee emptied his revolver at the scene ?
James lavelle once said Oswald had a sweet singing voice. He sounded like Bobby Darin and spent many minutes entertaining the police singing ‘splish splash and Mack the knife ‘. Does anyone have a recording ?
Not only that....Ruby thought that Oswald was handsome, and looked like Paul Newman!
What was he doing in the place where doctors were working on the patient? That sounds odd?
Mr Leavelle was a cousin of mine on my dad's side through his maternal grandfather. Wish I could have met him.
I am Jim's English friend. He and Taimi holidayed with me in 2001!. He was a wonderful man, I last stayed with Jim in 2015, not long after Taimi passed on st October 2014. Still much missed. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I agree that you have to place yourself in Oswald’s frame of mind. Assuming Oswald was the assassin and was the man who shot Tippit, Oswald had to assume that his name and description had been broadcast. He might not have answered Tippit’s questions which would explain why Tippit got out of the car. The question is, would you stop a man that fit the description of the presidential assassin who was also presumed to be armed in such a relaxed manner?
Good work, Nancy Drew.
In 1988, at the ASK Conference in Dallas, commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Assassination. Way before the symposium was to begin, I happened to catch him for about 10 minutes, just me and he. I asked as many questions, rapidly and politely that I could get in in a short time frame. I found him genuine, honest and very truthful. Now, fast forward to this video, I believe he didn't get into the things he responded to me about, because Gary Mack went from being an honest researcher and when made Custodian of the 6th Floor Museum, Mack changed. Of course Mack led Officer Leavelle down a different path, and when he was getting into "more details" than what the 6th Floor Museum cohorts want out, then Mack would lead him onto another topic. Many of the things I found out (I was very involved as far as researching at that time, and knew very incisive questions to ask.) I don't think Leavelle revealed very much here, but sorry to say, when I spoke with him, he gave me alot more "meat." (of course that was 32 years ago, and I took no notes.)
@@maxsmith695 There could have been up to 800-1200 shooters their that day. They seen a man with a blow gun with poision darts in the knoll.
@@maxsmith695 He slowed the car down so the SS agent could jump on
Number of shooters?? There were THREE shots, all by Oswald, the ONLY shooter
@@maxsmith695 You are mistaken, where did you get that information??
So Ruby knew Pierce if he did not come down that ramp how in the hell could he tell Lavelle that?
Big Jim was a giant in more ways than one, he also knew fine well that Oswald did the deed & he was spot on.Good auld Jim, a life well lived.
Wow at Pearl Harbor attack and handcuffed to Oswald when Jack Ruby shot him.
always plan your escape on a bus!!!!
Why did he say grassy knoll? Not the texas book depository?🤔
Come to respect this man...truth talking...no nonsense....takes you to the bottom line...
Wouldn't want him to guard me
In medicine, mds, know never to remove foreign items from bodies because that may cause more damage in the removal process.
Leavelle nailed Mack on changing his mind
Did Mack die not too long after this?
@@curbozerboomer1773 Yes he died I think hevwas 65.
His recollection of the moment he saw Ruby's gun and knew what was "fixin' to happen" was BS, if you watch the footage in slow motion. He didn't see the gun until it was being used, as he was looking at the car entering the area to his right.
I been saying this guy was full of BS for YEARS!!!!!!
@Jeffrey Ian: You can't tell us what another man saw, on the basis of the appearance of his looking (or not looking) in a particular direction. Only Leavelle knows what he actually "saw." And he tells us here.
@@dustyflair This guy is full of BS for years? I've been saying that about you for a lot longer.
@@apointofinterest8574 your mother
@@dustyflair Why, because he doesn't buy into all the conspiracy BS that's out there. One fact for sure he was really there in all of that, you sure wasn't.
Went to dealer plaza was very interesting and outside on the road are two black xs where jfk was shot at
he looked in his 50s in the picture with Lee Harvey Oswald........
"We were prepared for it" You didn't look too prepared in Bob Jackson's photo. Jim likes to make snide remarks about "the media", but who else was wearing a white suit in the basement that morning?
@dwsingrs WTF are you attacking the media for? Wasn't the media that let Oswald get murdered. Leavell was always trying to be John Wayne. Fact is they failed their mission.
@@TonyWud I would say that they succeeded on their mission. There were plans to take Oswald out in a way that would have protected him but that route was cancelled.
@@fourthtunz Bullshit. The Earth is round, by the way.
The morning of the assassination a police car was parked out side of Lees house. It was the car of Officer Tippits. The two knew each other.
Victor Suarez Tippit is a doppelgänger for JFK, they look so alike,
nope.
Smoke some more crack, and for dinner have an extra helping and seconds of stupid.
Rubbish.
@323 vzipfacts - no, he looked like KARL MALDEN
@ 27:11 Why in the Hell would you mention anything about someone shooting at the prisoner? That always struck me as a wee bit more than a coincidence.
He could have been killed if not for the bullet hitting the rib of Oswald. I am sure he had no idea. Not a chance.
It was a strange comment.
Dallas Brubaker
Jim said they had a lot of threats against Oswald, you dumb ass.
@@johnadams5489 Yeah right.
@@_insertusername_2464
There was a crowd of people waiting outside the Dallas City Jail waiting for Oswald to be transferred. There were a lot of people that wanted blood. Those of you that didn't live through that period of our history should STFU, It would be an improvement over being an asshole.
My understanding is that Oswald’s wife did NOT identify the jacket found hidden under the car as Lee Harvey Oswald’s jacket. The jacket was only sold in stores in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas and had a dry cleaning tag that the FBI was unable to match with any dry cleaning establishments.
Was this jacket ever tested to see if it would fit Oswald or tested for gunpowder residue?
She identified the jacket as his
@@justin3947 - Where is this in the Warren Commission report?
@@KevinBalch-dt8ot she told the WC it looked like one of the two jackets he owned but it doesn’t matter regarding the Tippit murder he put it on before and took it off after
See I told you ruby never knew Oswald you heard it from the horses mouth
He has to say that. There is so much proof that ruby and Oswald knew each other.
Look at the film of the LHO murder, Oswald was looking at Ruby and
the cops holding him were looking away.
Why was officer Leavelle the only one in the building wearing a white suit?
He knows what really happened but can never say.
@@fourthtunz Perhaps you schould listen to Leavelle explanation of why he was wearing the white suit before you accuse the man in conspiracy of the murder.
How would this guy know for sure if Ruby and Oswald knew each other? He would be basing that on what Ruby told him and what else was Ruby going to say at that point? Curry also stated that only a few DPD members knew Ruby and that was a complete lie.
@@randyharris3175 yeah his wife laid it out for
him..ok
@@Autshot20 there are many references that point out that ruby and oswald knew each other.
Why was he the only man wearing White?
If you look at video of him and Oswald, he is the only person wearing a White suit and hat.
It is also interesting that some one gave Oswald a black sweater.
Oswald and the Leavelle in the White suit with Oswald in black were easy to pick out.
Its actually a tan color, but still you are making a very good point. Look how slow Fritz reacts to the gunshot. The city cops were in up to their neck! And still is! The sixth floor museum was in cahoots with police to run Robert Groden out of the plaza. They arrested him twice, denied him medication, roughed him up, destroyed some of his propery, ticketed him 83 times. And the museum had emails where they were elated that his medication was denied.
Groden and Mack were friends for years, until Mack took the directors job. Groden had turned it down, because they would only allow the Oswald Did It Theory. Groden said no. If youre not familiar with Robert Groden, he is the one who brought the Zapruder film to the Geraldo Rivera show in 1975, so the American people could see it. He yas many books and videos,and has spent his entire life on this case.
@@janetphillips2875 Interesting about Fritz's slow reaction. An experienced Cop would have had a quicker reaction. Because if the shooter had used a machine gun or a shot gun, then Fritz could have been shot himself.
Also the security in the basement was not that great. All the people in the garage had over coats. So a shot gun or an AR 47 could have been hidden.
Jim's suit was not white, it was a light tan colour. Jim was my dear friend, and of course Taimi is wife. 🙏🏻❤🙏🏻❤
He kept saying, "See, I" in other parts of the interview as well. He wasn't saying "CIA". What's the matter with you people?
Some things about Oswald people do not readily recognize or concede:
For a "lone nut" he was a paragon of autonomy who had always maintained himself from an early age on.
His record in the Marine Corps was pretty average, he did not have a conduct or disciplinary problem.
He was not discharged for conduct, discipline or adjustment issues. He was given a hardship discharge but failed to support his mother after his discharge. At the time of his discharge he had about three years of service, and the Marine Corps probably was willing to let him go without a lot of investigation. His discharge was honorable but later was downgraded to the administrative level of undesirable on the presumption that he had told the Soviets secrets about the U-2 spy plane program.
He was not a defector to the Soviet Union, as he is sometimes described. It was legal for him to live in the Soviet Union, and he was not the first or the last to do so. The Soviets did not seek information from him about his U.S. military service and in fact suspected that he might be an American spy. They eventually correctly assessed him as a mentally unstable adventurer with communist sympathies.
He was not an incompetent shooter, his rifle range scores in the Marine Corps were average to low average.
He was not mentally deficient. His IQ score was reported as 112, close to the top quintile deemed the minimum to complete undergraduate college and go on the graduate or professional study.
He was not incompetent in the Russian language. He took the military language assessment test and based solely on self study received a good score in reading ability. He became relatively fluent in Russian after living in the Soviet Union and spoke Russian at home with his wife Marina.
He aspired to a life of adventure and intrigue and was prone to grandiose gestures. He, for example, attempted to renounce his American citizenship immediately upon arriving in the Soviet Union. But it was not illegal for an American citizen to live in the Soviet Union, which made this gesture totally unnecessary.
He is suspected of being the person who in 1963 fired a shot into the home of retired Gen. Edwin Walker, a right wing activist. but this is not proven.
While in the Marines, Oswald had a top secret security clearance and was working on the base that launch U2 flights over Russia. I disagree with you that he was an average Marine. My father was in the USMC stationed on Okinawa during this time. Oswald was doing things that were not normal for an enlisted man in The USMC.
@@davidrpriest When I said his record in the Marine Corps was relatively average, what I meant by this is that his disciplinary record was not outside the box. I am sure most one-term enlistees go through their term with no disciplinary events whatsoever. Oswald had two, both of which grew out of possession of an unauthorized weapon.
Another incident he was involved in was that he fired his weapon while on patrol in the Philippines, or so I heard once. This event may not have resulted in formal discipline or it may have dealt with through Article 15, which would leave no permanent record the way a court martial would.
Possession of an unauthorized weapon was not considered a grave transgression in that era. Too many people had them.
I have described Oswald's duty as "relatively elite." But the Marine Corps particularly liked to find good uses for anyone of above average intelligence and they were not particular in that era about educational level either. Intellectual testing placed Oswald above the 75th percentile.
The best estimate is that Oswald had no useful intelligence information to provide the Soviets with when he went to live in the Soviet Union. In other words, Oswald knew nothing that was not known to the world's intelligence agencies already. The Soviets correctly assessed Oswald as a mentally unstable adventurer but allowed him to remain there and provided him with a job commensurate with his qualifications.
Except for the time in the brig with 2 court -martials
and nervous breakdown, thats not average enlistment. He was also labeled an officer baiter. As far as Walker he had a few pieces of evidence strongly putting him in the alley behind Walkers home.
@@leemoore9933 I've learned of more evidence in the meantime. I think it was proven that he was the person who fired the shot at General Walker. One of his disciplinary actions in the Marine Corps was for possession of an unauthorized weapon, not exactly a rare transgression. The other disciplinary action was for picking a fight with the sergeant who reported him for the unauthorized possession of a weapon.
Whether you call his service relatively normal is a matter of opinion and designation. He was not involved in any major crimes while a service member. The job he had in the Marines he apparently performed adequately. The normal course of service is no disciplinary action and adequate performance in the assigned duty. Two relatively minor disciplinary action is not what I would call highly abnormal.
@@anonymike8280 I was in the Marine Corps in the 70's and Im telling you he was very lucky he didn't get a dishonarable. He sure wasn't a poster Marine he was total FUBAR! I disagree with your idea of minor conduct.
I am still upset that there were no recordings of the interrogation of LHO. I don't blame the Dallas cops for not being able to prevent the murder of LHO. But when there aren't any things but the detective's memory to reckon what happened on 11/22/63. There is no excuse for neglecting to have those recordings when it was so significant. If we had hard copy of his and LHO's voices we may have less conspiracy theorists or conspiracy realists.
It is amazing, that Capt Fritz did not even have a tape recorder to use while interrogating LHO....recorders were around, beginning in the late 40s, at least!...Talk about small-town operations, while working a city of three quarters of a million people at that time!?...no excuse for such incompetence!
They recorded over them. it was a mistake. but nothing serious.
It was intentional. They claim they didnt have recording equipment, but yet they had a RECORDING ROOM. They had recordings of police radio traffic.
Fritz was as low down dirty as they come. JFK had fired the Dallas mayor's brother from the CIA, and he was pissed. Notice Mack keeps butting in.
I wonder what Oswald was trying to do, or where he was planning to go when he came across Officer Tippit. Did he have a plan? He must have known it would not take long to identify him as missing from the Book Depository.
Oswald never met Tippet on Nov 22, 1963. subject, ( redacted ), the contracted hitman did meet Tippet.
@max swackfacts - the ' contract hitman ' was the gumball machine repairman who doubled as a tap dance instructor
I drive by the book depositary all the time so am fairly familiar with what Karen Westbrook Scanton was describing. Karen said 1. She was standing right next to the Stemmons freeway sign; 2. The shots she heard were from behind her (19:27). Go to googlemaps, find the sign and you will see what is directly behind it -- the grassy knoll! The building where she worked is way to the left of her. Today's sign is different from 1963 one but its located at the same spot.
echoes, absolutely NO evidence of a shooter at that location
@@djf750 Evidence comes in two forms. Sound and sight. Sight can be hidden but not sound.
@@BJ-mm9hb ECHOS
John Connally was an expert marksman. He disagreed with the echo theory all his life.
@@BJ-mm9hb Can you verify that please? Some evidence that he said something about the echos? And that he was an "expert" marksman? thanks!
And exactly why did Oswald allegedly shoot Tippett? AND. When they took his pistol, did it contain empty shells? Or 'live' bullets? Where was Oswald going? And why?
The gun was a .38 revolver. The shells were emptied out on the street but in a revolver these can be either emptied or left in the chamber. Officer Tippit apparently was shot with 9mm rounds, but a .38 revolver will chamber and fire 9mm rounds. Ballistic tests can determine if recovered shells or bullets were fired from a particular gun.
@@anonymike8280 LHO also tossed is wallet down at the Tippit scene.....
@@dustyflair The Warren Commission reported the forensic work related to the J.D. Tippit shooting.
The Warren Report stated that the the pistol in Oswald's possession at the time of his arrest in the Texas Theater was the weapon used in the Tippit shooting, the Report said, "to the exclusion of all other weapons in the world." This is something I learned only recently.
The confusion in the case is due to the rounds that struck Officer Tippit having been described as 9mm rounds. A .38 revolver will chamber .38 auto and .38 Super rounds which often are described as 9mm rounds. A .38 revolver also will chamber some obscure 9mm rounds, but that is not an issue in this case.
The evidence that Oswald shot Tippit is pretty absolute. You cannot say the same for the Kennedy shooting. There is no outright proof the Oswald fired the shots from the Book Depository window. There is no close eyewitness and no physical evidence either. It was his rifle, but that does not prove that he fired any shots that day.
If he did not fire the shots at the Kennedy motorcade, maybe he was part of a conspiracy. Maybe he was in a state of panic because he realized he had been set up to be accused of the crime, to be the "patsy" as he later put it.
Whether he had a role or not, panic would be a credible motive in the Tippit shooting.
I've done more study of the forensic issues of this case since the original post. The key in studying forensic cases is to pay attention. Anyone who prefaces their statements with a "had to be" or an "only a" or a "no one but" or a mom or a dad or even a dog "would never" usually has not done their homework.
@@anonymike8280 did you know what the escape vehicle was that they claim LHO used in the crime of the century?
@@anonymike8280 all I said was LHO tossed his wallet down too...>You didnt even reply to that but went on about some other BS....nice.
Mr. Leavelle contradicts himself on the sweater story.
Once he opened his mouth I didn’t believe what he said about Oswald.
There's another one of these 6th Floor interviews where he's on with some of the press guys who were were sharing their memories of the event.
One of the reporters makes a slip of the tongue, where he says that they wanted to get in to film the transfer because they knew it would be the last chance to see Oswald "ALIVE". But quickly corrected himself, explaining that he meant "live" as in "in person" because they thought that they'd never get into the court room.
The obvious faux pas draws a chuckle from the audience.
JL interrupts with an hilarious joke about how "...it WAS the last time anyone got to see him alive and standing". (I'm paraphrasing, but it's something very similar to that)
Which he seems to find real funny...
Yeah Jim... you and your colleagues were unable to safely transport a prisoner from one room to another in your own police station. The prisoner died as a result of your collective ineptitude and the wolrd lost its chance to find the truth and bring justice to bear in the killing of a President... fucking hilarious.
"It's funny because he died..." is rarely a good punchline.
When it's YOUR fault he died, it's even less appropriate.
I'd had a little sympathy for Leavelle as I was sure he'd have had to put up with a lot of shit over the years for cocking up so badly on live TV and letting his prisoner die while standing there looking like he had no clue where he was or what was happening.
But he seemed quite proud of his notoriety, so any sympathy I had for him was lost.
@Andy Alfaro: Once Andy Alfaro put his hands on his keyboard, I don't believe a word he typed.
You are full of shit. Someone gonna take your word?
@andy alfquitloopo - did ya reckon they MIGHT WANT your supposition
@@andrewtomlinson5237 what a pity. Jim and Taimi were friends of mine for decades. Jim was the personification of a true gentleman. I felt sorry for him, he devoted the rest of his life giving lectures to people who asked him. He only took money for travel expenses. Ruby's face was known to officers so, to gain access to the basement, he dressed in the 'Press uniform', dark suit, tie and trilby. Nobody questioned his presence. Ruby had always boasted that he wanted to be a hero, many, many years prior to shooting Oswald. Thought he was taking revenge for Jackie K.
Jim, you have had a lot of years to get your story straight. You are a liar my friend.
You are friends with him?
alpha, he knows a liar when he see's one....
@@dustyflair Thats solid proof right there. The case has been solved.
Blank you too, buddy, whatever. Nothing funnier than paranoia.
I’ve always wondered, though, about the Dallas Police Department from the 60’s-70’s, just as people wonder about the LAPD at that time in the post WWII era. The entire country had a dark undercurrent despite the optimism that people have painted the period, what with the Boomers and all. To me the fact that lots of drinking, smoking, Miltown (like the Valium of today) and highly unhappy people were lost 😞 back then….well my point is that the police were stressed and the civil rights era was keeping the Democrats who ran the South very very tense (people forget that the South were solid Democrats except for black Americans who voted Republican) and so the people like Oswald, total misfits, were regarded as suspicious violent people….he had lived in New York and in Russia and New Orleans….and it was a weird thing. My mom felt some vigilante would kill Oswald because the south had that “shoot first ask questions later” thing going on (we’re San Francisco people going back to 1867).
So you were around during the Zodiac, I was has always fascinated by that, crazy stuff.
The Dallas opera singers association was right next to Tippets car and all 92 singers witnessed the fat , 6'3" man shoot Tippett. Oswald was 5'6" but that day he was wearing high heals that made him 9 inches taller. All 92 singers testified to the Warren, Dulles, Ford Commission. Oswald had 2 six shooters on his cowboy holster belt and used both to shoot Tippet 12 times in the head. 23 neighborhood witness all testified to the same thing. Case closed. Lee Harvey Oswald killed the President with an unsighted gun that is considered the least accurate gun ever made and cost $5.00 in 1963 at gun shows. But Lee overcame that obstacle because he was the greatest sniper ever in the history of the NAVY, where he worked cooking eggs.
@@maxsmith695 All verified by the FBI AND the Secret Service. The shooter was a tall, short, fat, thin olive skinned white guy with bushy hair on the thin side and wore a Texas Rangers Stetson which he discarded on the front lawn of a neighbor, and the pubic hair in the hat matched the pubic hair they found on the blanket the Carcano was wrapped in. Tippit was apparently transitioning at the time and Oswald, a known homosexual, was furious about it. 🤡
@@paulaharrisbaca4851 - good job!
most corrupt PD in America in 1963 and today.
so this guy Failed to protect his prisoner ... well done ol B
the 6th should have been left the way oswald left it
Have you ever been there? You would be surprised how much of it is still the same. Or as close to original.
This was shot above the Sixth Floor. It is where they have these programs. I was there.
If it sets you at ease, this is the seventh floor. The sixth floor is a museum, yes, but the sniper's nest is glassed off.
What about Mac Wallace?????????????
Naturally 1+1=103,465
Wonder why Leavelle wore a white suit that day?
Gary Mack? The same Gary Mack that was involved in performing a reenactment that included trying to demonstrate how Kennedy could not have been hit from the front because Jackie would have also been hit. The recreation included placing Jackie's head BEHIND JFK's. The group actually put Jackie's head between John's head and the back of car demonstrating she would have been struck by the bullet when it exited John's head.
+Autshot20 Gary Mack recently died......
Yes I read that. Very sorry to hear that. His knowledge and research of the assassination were impressive. Too bad he stopped his quest for the truth.
@@Autshot20 I am doing some research about the assassination and am not partial either way. Can you tell me what your views are on the assassination and what research you have done also convince me your results are correct and were you alive and old enough to understand what had happened. I am asking people on both sides without any preconceived results.
@@rickhenry8035 I have always been interested in the assassination itself and not as focused on conspiracy. Things have to make sense to me so that is how I try to judge what is credible and what is crazy assertion. What makes sense to me is what is provable. I think it was one guy shooting from the 6th floor of the TSBD. I think the evidence is quite overwhelming. If it's not Oswald shooting then why is Oswald fleeing the building? That does not make sense. He brought a paper bag to work saying curtain rods were in the bag. The bag was found near the rifle but no curtain rods were ever found. What makes sense is what is more likely to be the truth. When the wound to Governor Conally's back is oblong it proves it was tumbling and bolsters the single bullet fact. To make more sense of it ask yourself where did the bullet disappear to if it did not hit Conally? Then ask where is it and how come it did not damage the car? To figure out the JFK assassination you just have to dig for facts to dispel myths like the single bullet is pristine. It is not. The Secret Service left the bubble top off. False it was Kennedy's call and in keeping with habit. Nobody can make the shots. Not true dozens have duplicated them. Rick this is a fascinating subject and keep an open mind when bombarded with some of the wild assertions that your sure to see.
He talks about only incidental detail to deflect away from the central issues; hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. ... corrupt or incompetent or both ? LHO-RUBY-CARLOS MARCELLO. Dorothy Kilgallen was on the case, so she was eliminated. No mention of or hint about that. Interesting to note where he tries to lead away into tangential minutiae.
Buzz Aldrin does that when asked about moon landing questions. Steers the conversation into some unrelated area, and focuses on minutiae that has zero to do with aviation. Red flag.
Regarding Kilgallen, this letter recently turned up: "Dear New York City Police Department and Coroner's Office: we are the real assassins of President Kennedy who are desperate to keep our existence secret. This high-profile journalist who had one conversation with Ruby during a public trial where he could have come forward with any statement he wanted to at any time, is planning on writing about her coverage of this trial as part of one chapter of a much larger book on many criminal cases she has covered which she is not planning on publishing for months to come, so is obviously an urgent expose. Even though this was months ago and she has not blown any plot to anybody, we've decided just to be on the safe side we'd better kill her while leaving Ruby and his attorneys alive. Would you mind getting your cops to risk their necks, obey illegal orders, make themselves accessories to murder and bend over backwards to help us assassinate your own President and overthrow your own government? Thanks in advance. Signed, The Conspiracy."
the only dude in the basement in a 'over here but don't shoot me', light colour suit
Yep.
Incredible the countless hours of research on this awful day. Blows my mind people think just 3 shots 6 floor. 2 rifles were found there some researchers say 1 was Oswald's 1 was LBJ hitman Wallace. Some heard shots from grassy knowell bunch heard shots from 6 floor book blg. 1 thing that you can see on zapruder film prices to me there was more than 1 shooter. Last 2 shots in super slow motion or frame by frame jfk holding his throat area he briefly leaned forward in pain this was shot to the upper back which was shown in an autopsy photo a second later the awfull exploding bullet from right front side shoves him hard forward an to his left. You will never convince me it was just a lone wolf Oswald 3 shots 6 floor or that last fatal shot came from 6 floor cause if it did jfk would have fallen forward hard or stay forward after upper back shot an bullet would have come out front of his face
I mis spelled I meant to say last shot he was shoved back an to his left after he leaned forward from the upper back shot
If LHO was getting death threats why parade him around whilst still in the police station where you should have control? Or perhaps that's what they wanted.
They paraded him around so there wouldn’t be any reports of Oswald being mistreated .
Auto shot what are you saying the man is lieing
It was preplanned, Jim Levellel was to dress in a light colored suite & light hat. He was to appear at the window of the jail where he could be seen by Ruby from the Western Union office. Ruby would then walk to private entrances used only by cops to be let in by the cops, LHO's transfer was delayed on purpose by claiming a postal inspector wanted to question him about the mail order gun purchase. If you watch the clip the police detective dressed in the light suit on seeing Ruby in place moves to his right fully exposing LHO for the kill shot. The final plan was to overturn Ruby's guilty verdict & have him killed before the retrial. Ruby though witnessed by millions killing LHO in cold blood would die an innocent man, yet LHO whom nobody had seen kill J D. Tippet or JFK & would have been found "not guilty" had he stood trial, is named as the assassin of JFK on a plaque in Dealey Plaza. The real criminals who planned, executed & covered up the coup-d 'etat will never be brought to justice & America will live in infamy.
note this cop only tells you what he wants you to know.
LMAO damm you have to much time on your hands. Try breaking your meds in half.
Another modern armchair detective who sees nothing wrong with publicly opining away with zero evidence anybody they feel like accusing of being accessories to capital murder so long as it suits whatever "conspiracy theory" they've pulled out of thin air and not giving one hoot how much pain or distress their irresponsible spoutings cause their families....
You are full of shit. Just give up.
WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH....
i want to believe him..but i dont... all this was too odd.. ruby just walked in..and timing was ..too close..
James lavelle gone too soon
Indeed, and Taimi too. Dear friends of mine. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 RIP.
I like him
The man in the white suit.....
This man has always given me the creeps.
Charles Ray Why?
Some if these comments are not right
Randy Harris
Assholes like Vern Pascal and Autoshot are worthless conspiracy kooks with their heads up their ass. They don't WANT to believe there was one assassin. The only place they ever saw a naked woman is on the Internet. Assholes.
I was born in 1974....and he always looked big, mean, and tough.
I get the distinct feeling he WAS big, mean and tough.
I would have not wanted to tussle with this lawman.
He'd have kicked my ass.
Great Interview, Fact: 1) Jim Leavelle is one of the officers whose team failed to protect their prisoner during a prisoner transfer. Q: How reliable is he and others members of the team? They totally screwed up and now they are the ones left to tell the story... what a joke! 2) There are many inconsistencies in his statements, for example, He states that he saw the Jack Ruby holding the gun. Look at the actual video footage of the shooting. Jim Leavelle was stone faced. He did not yell gun, he did not take swift action other than to back away from Oswald. He actually appears surprised. 3) Jim's conflicting statements in this testimony show that it is possible that Good ole boy justice in the south is whatever they decide they want to make up to help close the case and hide their mistakes. 4) Jim states that you could count on one hand the number of Dallas police officers that frequented Jack Ruby's club and that critics are overreacting about this. Q: How many police officers does it take to allow Jack Ruby, an armed man with a police arrest record, to have unrestricted access to the Dallas police department's basement during a high profile prisoner transfer? We are not sure but apparently less than you can count on one hand. 5) Jim appears to be a very nice guy, a smart guy and a very dedicated police officer, but if he was selling investments, I would not believe him enough to buy. He has outstanding memory but there are too many inconsistencies in his story.
The video footage contradicts Mr Leavelle's assertions that he saw Ruby standing with a gun by his side and started to pull Oswald as Ruby lunged: Mr Leavelle was looking straight forward, and possibly a little to his right - Ruby came in from Leavelle's LEFT, down low with the gun in his right hand - Oswald was between Leavelle and Ruby. The video footage shows Leavelle only start to react only (split seconds) after Ruby fires. In fact Oswald has already cried out "Ohh..." as Leavelle turns to his left to see Ruby (who is still projecting forward - seemingly to take another shot).
The Dallas opera singers association was right next to Tippets car and all 92 singers witnessed the fat , 6'3" man shoot Tippett. Oswald was 5'6" but that day he was wearing high heals that made him 9 inches taller. All 92 singers testified to the Warren, Dulles, Ford Commission. Oswald had 2 six shooters on his cowboy holster belt and used both to shoot Tippet 12 times in the head. 23 neighborhood witness all testified to the same thing. Case closed. Lee Harvey Oswald killed the President with an unsighted gun that is considered the least accurate gun ever made and cost $5.00 in 1963 at gun shows. But Lee overcame that obstacle because he was the greatest sniper ever in the history of the NAVY, where he worked cooking eggs.
Bevery Oliver JFK Conference
@niyom phusopha: Ah yes, the Beverly Oliver who claimed she photographed the assassination with a camera that wasn't yet invented!
Oliver told so many demonstrable lies it would take all day just to list them all.
In 1998 I was a few feet away from the window LHO shot from and saw the red X on the pavement marking JFK's position the instant he was hit. I could not sit where Oswald sat crouched behind those boxes arranged exactly as there were that day, a large plexiglass panel protects the window from souvenir hunters, but the 80 yard distance convinced me the shots all came from there.
Why did he wear a white suit on that day? Why was he the only man in a white suit that day? Pretty easy to spot in a white suit, even from blocks away at Western Union office through the windows.
If the Dallas police was in it. Why they didn't get rid of Oswald earlier. They could have done it after he left the building on his way to his boarding room and then while walking to the point where he killed Tippit. And if that was not enough, they had a great opportunity inside the movie theater after Oswald pulled a gun on the officers. Where were the conspirators?
@@victorcarrillo1570 - Oswald did not kill Tippet. Tippet was killed by a .380 semi auto, Oswald owned a .38 revolver. duh.
@@maxsmith695 Oswald was seen by a steady chain of witnesses killing Tippit, fleeing and trying to hide in the theater where he was caught red-handed trying to shoot a second cop only minutes later. The bullets from Tippit's body were ballistically matched directly to Oswald's gun. Duh.
@@aaronz7056 The Dallas opera singers association was right next to Tippets car and all 92 singers witnessed the fat , 6'3" man shoot Tippett. Oswald was 5'6" but that day he was wearing high heals that made him 9 inches taller. All 92 singers testified to the Warren, Dulles, Ford Commission. Oswald had 2 six shooters on his cowboy holster belt and used both to shoot Tippet 12 times in the head. 23 neighborhood witness all testified to the same thing. Case closed. Lee Harvey Oswald killed the President with an unsighted gun that is considered the least accurate gun ever made and cost $5.00 in 1963 at gun shows. But Lee overcame that obstacle because he was the greatest sniper ever in the history of the NAVY, where he worked cooking eggs.
@@maxsmith695 I'm just trying to think of a really polite way of saying that entire statement is a huge lie.
Hmm, I guess he had radio duty on December 7, 1941 and pulled away just as the Japanese bombed the conning tower in Hawaii.
Book evidence of a conspiracy, mostly pics taken that day
I feel bad for this guy. If you wasn't as dirty as he looks and made no money. God rest his soul.
*THIS WAS FILMED LIVE IN REAL TIME ON TELEVISION YOU LIAR.*
Thanks for not correcting him Detective and yes indeed History does not forget.
14:13 48:06
Your job was to safely transfer, and protect the prisoner, and you failed to do so. You screwed up, as did the other members of the Dallas police dept in charge of this prisoner, and security of the transfer. Plan and simple. Period.
dwsingrs - Yes. His job was to protect the prisoner from harm. Did he succeed, or not? He didn’t, and he knows that as well just as you do.
@dwsingrs Now your talking pal
These guys really ought to have their stories straight by now... (or whenever this was filmed...)
And, before I go any further, let me point out that this isn't conspiracy theory made up nonsense, this is all documented, and readily available, actual, bone fide evidence.
Oswald was arrested on the back of a phone call made by the cashier of the Texas Movie Theatre after a shop worker from a few doors down told her that he had seen this man sneak past her without paying and advised her to call the cops, because he matched the description of the suspect wanted in connection with the Dealey Plaza shooting. (NOT the Tippit shooting...)
This guy's name was Johnny Brewer. HE said that he became suspicious of Oswald after hearing on the Radio a description of the assassin of JFK (No such announcement had gone out over public radio concerning Tippit's murder prior to Oswald's arrest) and believed that Oswald was acting in a suspicious manner. (If you want to see and hear Brewer stating this quite categorically, look up the film "Rush to Judgement"... its available in full on CZcams. Whether you agree with documentary maker Mark Lane or not... Brewer makes it quite clear that it was the Kennedy suspect he was responding to.)
The woman who phoned in the tip (Ms Postal) obviously gave a poor description of the 130-135 Lb 24 yr old Oswald for the DPD to match him to the 165 lb man in his mid thirties that had been broadcast...
How lucky that it just happened to be the right guy anyway, eh?
Still, it's a weird situation; that the detective handling the Tippit shooting was holding a suspect who had been arrested based off the description given for the Kennedy shooting...
You're forgetting one very critical fact he was also being chased from the Tippet shooting.Come in man you know that.He want bring followed only for suspicion of the Kennedy murder.
What the hell you talking about Postal didnt even see him enter the theater there his your iron clad facts out the window.
IT WAS Harold Brennan description they were going on not Postal correct your mistake.
IT is in no way a weird situation that Leavelle is holding the man for the Tippett shooting who happens to be the suspect in the Kennedy assassanation is that the way a persons mind works who is prone to believe in conspiracies.
@@randyharris3175 There had been no description of the Tippit murder given out over public radio. They had no idea where he was and no one was chasing him from the Tippit scene.
I learned a lot about tippit shooting from this man now I know 100 percent iswaks shot tipoitt
Oh, he was there? Randy you are a TROLL.....gobble gobble.....
Leavelle was a lier n Wana b he reminds me of the little guy on Barney Miller he wore a light colored suit so he could b seen
It is just wild how Clint Hill and Jim Leavelle, down play what a piss poor job they did that week end, it is almost as though they are patting themselves on the back . Today they would be severly demoted or tossed of the department.
31:50 "Well we made many mistakes (the police department did) over that weekend."
So you are wrong.
What did Clint Hill do wrong ?
Him and his buddies are screw ups.
I don’t agree it was a different era. They made mistakes but it’s easy to look back in retrospect.
@cobar53 no setup. He let somebody in front of him at the western union office. He is literally walking into the basement as Oswald is coming down the elevator. The Postmaster General caused the delay because Oswald had the fake id on him and he wanted to interrogate him on that matter. Ruby would not have even been anywhere near the scene if not for a dancer at his club asking if she could borrow money for rent from him. He let a person go in front of him at the Western Union office. An assassin is not taking chances of missing their mark by wiring money and showing up 30 seconds before the hit.
Why were you wearing a white suit? Why were you wearing a dark suit the prior day and every other LE official wearing a dark suit? How many men in Dallas are wearing white suits? Why did you stand in front of the window of the interrogation room in your white suit? How often does your wife - as you claim - put out your clothes for you?
M.D.A. If a "white suit" is in and of itself sinister, and evidence of criminal complicity, then we must move immediately to indict Colonel Harlan Sanders, not to mention Tom Wolfe, among quite a few others.
You are right in concluding Lavelle was in on it. His weak response to the question about his choice of the light suit, conveniently blamed on his wife, shows the character of the man!
@@manishagangawala3921 Thank you for also recognizing the obvious. The flippant prior response doesn't address the observation. How many Dallas men are wearing white suits, daily? How many law enforcement officers wear white suits, period? Before CZcams vanquishes the remaining JKF "conspiracy" biographies to the Vince Bugliosi museum, download as many as you can for future generations. (Difficult as it may be when the Secret Service purposely - and admittedly to Congress - shredded documents related to the prep of that day.) Oh, when do Secret Service supervisors pull agents off of the back of the President's motorcade to leave him completely exposed?
@@manishagangawala3921 You are wrong to believe there was a conspiracy in the JFK assassination. But, assuming for the sake of argument, that a conspiracy existed, Jim Levealle would be among the least likely to have been a part of it. You betray your character by making such a foolish comment. Don't blame Levealle, blame yourself.
He acts so definite. He spent a lot of time trying to find a connection ... Anything like the protection he provided, the outcome expected is obvious.
Jim Leavelle was in on it too wearing a white suit was Ruby's cue to shoot Oswald
Sure, buddy
Whether he knew it or not Jim was part of the cover up!
Yea sure and im bigfoot
And your evidence of the cover up is????? Nothing, there is no evidence just another reckless conspiracy claim with nothing to support it. Ignorant people just refuse to believe a lone gunman, an inconsequential nut job like oswald could murder a man as consequential as Kennedy. To this day there is not one shred of hard evidence to support a conspiracy. There is a mountain of hard evidence that supports oswald acted alone. Most people just don't want to accept the truth. To them it doesn't balance out, loser oswald murders great Kennedy, it can't be must be something bigger but it's just a simple as that. Easy open and shut case.
@@Rayburn58 hey clown you left out a lot of stuff......what about Ruby being able to kill LHO in the POLICE STATION, HELLO CAPT OBVIOUS......a cop was killed that day too....I guess you think LHO was going to shoot his way out of Texas....And we are the ignorant people here?
Don't talk rubbish.
When the interview begins with lies and distractions it tells you what to expect. The value of this interview is to realize what he says is: what exactly did not happen. keep researching.
@D W: When D W"s post begins with "lies and distortions," it tells us just who we're dealing with: a clueless conspiratard.
@@apointofinterest8574 JL IS A LIAR....BOTTOM LINE
"turn off your cell phones!" Here we are watching on CZcams. There is much already on the record but yes indeed this is a dark day for American History.
And straight up ignorant as well.
"Did you or did you not know you were live on Television when this happened, Detective?
Can you tell the Audience here what it meant to even own a Television back in 1963?"
This is how History is in fact expressed...trying to elucidate *FACTS* not *LIES* indeed.
@@dustyflair RF Jr. is a liar, straight up.
@@apointofinterest8574 im lieing that Lavell is a liar? ok liar.
love how they get irritated by the final question from the non caucasian!!!
Lol. A guy can't string a decent fucking grammatical and audible sentence together. And you accuse the others of being racist. How fucking warped can your world view be.
do you think this would have affected the decision to start making Coke with fucking corn syrup instead of sugar. come on man, you know he was getting at that.
Go home
@@F00dTube Heck I listened three times and I still don't know what the guy ask. He could have been Santa Claus.
DPD does NOT wear white.
Not a nice man, according to some. Guess he's got his nice face on. Some of it "we" deserved? How about "I" deserved?
Dude moving and thinking slower than pond water, in his stetson lbj hat.
Where do they get all this garbage on you tube about 2 shooters and such