Shortly following the assassination of President Kennedy, DPD Officers encountered men in Dealey Plaza identifying themselves as Secret Service agents. However, according to the Secret Service – no agents were assigned to Dealey plaza! As for the agents assigned to the motorcade, all of them remained in the motorcade until it reached Parkland Memorial hospital. The first agent to return to Dealey Plaza was Forrest Sorrels, the Special agent in charge of the Dallas district of the United States Secret Service. According to the Warren commission, Sorrels returned to Dealey plaza 20 to 25 minutes following the assassination. Up until that point in time, there were no other Secret Service agents present in Dealey Plaza.
The obvious implication of the above information is that the men identifying themselves as Secret Service agents were in fact imposters. The sinister explanation is that these men were conspirators, posing as Secret Service agents, in order to deflect suspicion away from themselves when confronted by DPD Officers. I discuss the encounters with these “Secret Service” men below.
The encounter behind the picket fence
Immediately following the assassination, Dallas Police officer, Joe Marshall Smith, was approached by a woman screaming hysterically that someone was shooting at the President from behind the bushes on top of the grassy knoll. Smith raced his motorcycle to the Grassy Knoll, pulled out his revolver and made his way behind the picket fence. After arriving behind the fence, he encountered a man who identified himself as a secret service agent.
From Smith’s Warren commission testimony:
Mr. Smith.
I started up toward this Book Depository after I heard the shots, and I didn't know where the shots came from. I had no idea, because it was such a ricochet.
Mr. Liebeler.
An echo effect?
Mr. Smith.
Yes, sir.; and this woman came up to me and she was just in hysterics. She told me, "They are shooting the President from the bushes." So I immediately proceeded up here.
Mr. Liebeler.
You proceeded up to an area immediately behind the concrete structure here that is described by Elm Street and the street that runs immediately in front of the Texas School Book Depository, is that right?
Mr. Smith.
I was checking all the bushes and I checked all the cars in the parking lot.
Mr. Liebeler.
There is a parking lot in behind this grassy area back from Elm Street toward the railroad tracks, and you went down to the parking lot and looked around?
Mr. Smith.
Yes, sir; I checked all the cars. I looked into all the cars and checked around the bushes. Of course, I wasn't alone. There was some deputy sheriff with me, and I believe one Secret Service man when I got there. I got to make this statement, too. I felt awfully silly, but after the shot and this woman, I pulled my pistol from my holster, and I thought, this is silly, I don't know who I am looking for, and I put it back. Just as I did, he showed me that he was a Secret Service agent.
Mr. Liebeler.
Did you accost this man?
Mr. Smith.
Well, he saw me coming with my pistol and right away he showed me who he was.
Mr. Liebeler.
Do you remember who it was?
Mr. Smith.
No, sir; I don't--because then we started checking the cars. In fact, I was checking the bushes, and I went through the cars, and I started over here in this particular section.
Note that Smith claimed the man showed him he was a Secret Service agent – which means he obviously produced Secret Service identification. The deputy Sheriff to whom Smith referred to was Seymour Weitzman. Below is the relevant excerpt from Weitzman’s Warren Commission testimony - where he corroborates Smith’s encounter:
Mr. Ball.
What did you notice in the railroad yards?
Mr. Weitzman.
We noticed numerous kinds of footprints that did not make sense because they were going different directions.
Mr. Ball.
Were there other people there besides you?
Mr. Weitzman.
Yes, sir; other officers, Secret Service as well, and somebody started, there was something red in the street and I went back over the wall and somebody brought me a piece of what he thought to be a firecracker and it turned out to be, I believe, I wouldn't quote this, but I turned it over to one of the Secret Service men and I told them it should go to the lab because it looked to me like human bone. I later found out it was supposedly a portion of the President's skull.
Given the fact that no Secret Service agents were on foot in Dealey Plaza immediately following the assassination, the man Smith encountered was a fake. Lone gunman kooks have naturally tried to dismiss the encounter by Officer Smith, as being a simple case of misidentification. In his overblown tome, Reclaiming history, Vincent Bugliosi argues that the man Smith encountered was actually an off duty Army intelligence officer named James W Powell. However, as I hope you will be convinced, this is a complete crock!
Powell was viewing the motorcade along Houston, near the Elm street intersection. Following the assassination, Powell wrote a report where he described his activities immediately following the assassination. Below is Powell’s entire report, with the relevant sections underlined.
Approximately 1225 hours, I was standing at the corner of Austin Street and Main Street, Dallas, where I had just taken a picture of the late President John F. Kennedy and his wife as they passed in the motorcade. Hoping to get one more picture, I ran one block back to Elm Street, and down Elm towards the intersection of Elm Street and Houston Street. As I approached this intersection, at approximately 1228 hours, and was about one block away, Kennedy’s motorcade was just turning West off Houston Street. At this point, I heard at least two loud explosions, which I assumed could either have been shots from a firearm or some sort of fireworks. Several people in the crowd, which was at the intersection to view the motorcade as it passed, pointed up at the Texas School Book Depository (TSBDB), 411 South Elm Street. I took a photograph of the building at that instant. Several policemen, men from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, and newspapers and television reporters, were rushing toward the railroad switching yard behind the TSBDB. I followed them in order to learn what had happened. One of the television reporters, whose name I did not get, said that he heard that someone had fired a gun at Kennedy. I rushed back to the TSBDB, through the lobby, and into the first-floor office. There I heard Pearce Almond (phonetic), a newscaster from WFAA Television Station, Dallas, who was telephoning his office. Almond said that he heard that Kennedy had been fired at and hit, and that the shots had may have come from the TSBDB. Almond had just talked with a construction worker supposedly witnessing the accident. I went upstairs to the second floor and telephoned my office. I reported what I had heard to Let. Col. Roy H. Pate, Region Commander. I then returned to the first floor, where I met and interviewed the aforementioned construction worker, an employee of Wallace Beard, Oil and Gas Building, Dallas. I did not have time to get the man’s name because the Dallas Police had to talk to him. I was able to learn from this man that he saw someone fire shots from approximately the sixth floor of the TSBDB, and that one of the shots hit Kennedy. This man said that Kennedy grabbed his chest and slumped forward, as the motorcade continued towards Stemmons Expressway. Kennedy’s wife, the man told me, attempted to jump out of the car. This was all the information I was able to obtain from this source. I rushed to the same telephone I had previously used and called my office to report this information. When I returned to the lobby of the TSBDB, I was met by policeman and men form the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, some of whom were carrying shotguns. I identified myself with my credentials, but, along with everyone else in the building, I was detained. One of the law enforcement officers telephoned my office in order to further verify my identity. I gave them my name, the fact that I am a special agent with the United States Army Intelligence Corps, my business and home addresses, and my business and home telephone numbers. I was not allowed to leave the lobby of the building at that time. It was then approximately 1300 hours. I was released at 1345 hours and returned to my office.
As we can see, Powell claimed to follow several people to the railway yards following the assassination. Powell also claimed in his report that he spoke to a construction worker, who worked at Wallace Beard, Oil and gas building in Dallas. This was undoubtedly Howard Brennan – who of course later claimed to identify Oswald as the TSBD 6th floor sniper. It’s important to note that Brennan claimed during his Warren commission testimony that Powell was a Secret Service agent. The significance of this misidentification could be used to argue that Officer Smith made the same mistake as Brennan. However, there are many problems with this theory.
Firstly, Powell makes no mention of encountering a Policeman with his revolver drawn and showing him his identification – despite the fact that Powell mentioned showing his ID to Police Officers inside the TSBD. Secondly, Smith claimed that he was alone with Seymour Weitzman when he encountered the “Secret Service” man. Yet Powell claimed to see several people rushing towards the railway yards after which he followed them. Also, Powell had been carrying his camera with him. However, Smith made no mention of seeing a camera with the man he encountered.
Officer Smith was also interviewed by journalist and author, Anthony Summers. According to Summers, Smith described the “Secret Service” agent he encountered as follows:
“He looked like an auto mechanic. He had on a sports shirt and sports pants. But he had dirty fingernails, it looked like, and hands that looked like an auto mechanic's hands. And afterwards it didn't ring true for the Secret Service. At the time we were so pressed for time, and we were searching. And he had produced correct identification, and we just overlooked the thing. I should have checked that man closer, but at the time I didn't snap on it.”
Smith makes it clear that he was suspicious of the man he encountered. Smith’s description of the man is intriguing for a number of reasons. Firstly, he claimed the man was wearing a sports shirt and Sports pants. This hardly fits the description of an off duty intelligence officer- and there is no evidence that Powell was dressed in such clothing. In fact, many researchers have identified whom they believe to be James Powell, wearing a suit and tie. Secondly, Smith claimed the man looked like an auto mechanic, and had dirty finger fingers. This description is also not consistent with that of an off duty intelligence officer.
Let’s now take a look at the observations of Lee Bowers. On the day of the assassination, Bowers was working inside the 14 foot tall railroad tower, behind the TSBD, as a switch and signal operator. Bowers is well known amongst conspiracy advocates, because of his observation of seeing three suspicious looking vehicles enter the parking lot behind the grassy knoll and picket fence just prior to the assassination.
Bowers also claimed to see two men standing close together towards the triple underpass. Many conspiracy advocates (including myself) believe the two men were standing behind the picket fence, and fired a shot at the President as his limousine approached their location. Lone gunman zealots (including some conspiracy advocates) believe the two men were actually in front of the fence, and were therefore not part of the conspiracy.
According to lone gunman zealots, the two men Bowers observed were Emmett Hudson (the Dealey Plaza grounds keeper), and a man who Pat Speer believes to be F. Lee Mudd. These two men were standing on the steps on the grassy knoll, as seen in photographs, and the Mary Muchmore film. However, there are many problems with this theory. For example, Hudson and “Mudd” were not standing together alone. An African American man believed to be Wilfred Baetz, was also standing with them. Now are we to believe that Bowers noticed two of the men, but somehow completely missed one of them? Ridiculous if you ask me!
Furthermore, Bowers description of the two men he saw, do not match the descriptions of Hudson, “Mudd”, or “Baetz”. During his Warren commission testimony, Bowers described the two men he saw as follows:
“Directly in line, towards the mouth of the underpass, there were two men. One man, middle-aged, or slightly older, fairly heavy-set, in a white shirt, fairly dark trousers. Another younger man, about midtwenties, in either a plaid shirt or plaid coat or jacket.”
Photographs and the Muchmore film show that Hudson was dressed in a white shirt with a dark coloured jacket, and white/khaki coloured pants. Although Hudson does appear to be “middle-aged, or slightly older” he does not appear to be heavy-set. As far as Bower’s description of a man with a plaid shirt is concerned, this could be referring to “Mudd”. However, there is no way to be certain. As far as “Baetz” is concerned, Bower’s description of the two men he observed, doesn’t match “Baetz’s” description at all.
Let’s now take a look at the observations of witness, J.C Price. Price was viewing the motorcade from the roof of the Terminal Annex building on Commerce Street, opposite the grassy knoll/picket fence. Following the assassination, Price gave a sworn affidavit to the Dallas Sheriff’s department, where he described seeing a man running towards the cars behind the picket fence. Below is Price’s entire affidavit.
“This day at about 12:35 PM I was on the roof of the Terminal Annex Bldg on the NE corner when the presidential motorcade came down Main to Houston, North on Houston and then West on Elm. The cars had proceeded west on Elm and was [sic] just a short distance from the Triple [sic] underpass, when I saw Gov. Connelly [sic] slump over. I did not see the president as his car had gotten out of my view under the underpass. There was a volley of shots, and then much later, maybe as much as five minutes [sic!] later, another one. I saw one man run towards the passenger cars on the railroad siding after the volley of shots. This man had a white dress shirt, no tie and khaki [sic] coloured trousers. His hair appeared to be long and dark and his agility running could be about 35 yrs [sic] of age. He had something in his hand. I couldn't be sure but it may have been a head piece.”
As we can see, Price described seeing what he believed to be a head piece in the man’s hand. Although “Baetz” did start running towards the cars following the shots (as seen in the Muchmore film) he didn’t have anything in his hands. Furthermore, Price’s description of the man he saw running doesn’t match “Baetz’s” description. I should note that Price’s description of a white shirt and Khaki pants is consistent with the clothing Emmett Hudson was wearing. However, Hudson did not run towards the cars following the assassination, and he certainly wasn’t a young man with long dark hair, and he didn’t have a head piece in his hands. Also, Hudson was wearing a dark jacket over his white shirt. Price didn’t mention seeing the man wearing a dark jacket.
In my opinion, the man J.C Price observed running, was most likely a shooter behind the fence. In his affidavit to the Dallas Sheriff’s office, Bowers described one of the men he saw driving a car into the parking lot behind the grassy knoll/picket fence as follows.
“At about 12:15 pm another car came into the area with a white man about 25 to 35 years old driving. This car was a 1957 Ford, Black, 2 door with Texas license. This man appeared to have a mike or telephone in the car”
Bowers’ description of the man’s age is consistent with Price’s description of the man’s age being about 35. It is also quite curious that Bowers described seeing the man with what appeared to be a mike or telephone. Recall that Price observed the man he saw running with what appeared to be a head piece. Now is this just a coincidence?
I should note that Bowers did state in his affidavit that the car bearing the man he observed with the mike/telephone, did leave prior to the assassination. However, bear in mind that many witnesses such as Sam Holland, Victoria Adams, and Carolyn Arnold claimed their statements/testimonies were altered. So I think it’s a safe bet that the statements of a crucial witness, such as Bowers, would also have been altered to some degree.
Bowers’ testimony to the Warren commission on where he observed the two men standing was fairly ambiguous. However, when we also take into account Joe Marshall Smith’s encounter with the fake Secret Service agent, along with the Observations of J.C Price, it becomes less ambiguous that the men Bowers observed, were standing behind the fence. The following is from Bowers’ testimony.
Mr. Ball
Did you see any activity in this high ground above Elm after the shot?
Mr. Bowers
At the time of the shooting there seemed to be some commotion, and immediately following there was a motorcycle policeman who shot nearly all of the way to the top of the incline.
Mr. Ball
On his motorcycle?
Mr. Bowers
Yes.
Mr. Ball
Did he come by way of Elm Street?
Mr. Bowers
He was part of the motorcade and had left it for some reason, which I did not know.
Mr. Ball
He came up---
Mr. Bowers
He came almost to the top and I believe abandoned his motorcycle for a moment and then got on it and proceeded, I don't know
Mr. Ball
How did he get up?
Mr. Bowers
He just shot up over the curb and up.
Mr. Ball
He didn't come then by way of Ell, which dead ends there?
Mr. Bowers
No; he left the motorcade and came up the incline on the motorcycle.
Mr. Ball
Was his motorcycle directed toward any particular people?
Mr. Bowers
He came up into this area where there are some trees, and where I had described the two men were in the general vicinity of this.
Mr. Ball
Were the two men there at the time?
Mr. Bowers
I--as far as I know, one of them was. The other I could not say.
The darker dressed man was too hard to distinguish from the trees. The white shirt, yes; I think he was.
The darker dressed man was too hard to distinguish from the trees. The white shirt, yes; I think he was.
Mr. Ball
When you said there was a commotion, what do you mean by that? What did it look like to you when you were looking at the commotion?
Mr. Bowers
I just am unable to describe rather than it was something out of the ordinary, a sort of milling around, but something occurred in this particular spot which was out of the ordinary, which attracted my eye for some reason, which I could not identify.
Bowers informed the Warren commission that one of the men was still in the spot where he had previously observed the two men together - as Officer Smith came into the area. This is consistent with Smith encountering only one man, and Price seeing one man running away.
If you want further evidence of a shooter located behind the picket fence, then just consider that at least 57 witnesses recalled hearing a shot from that direction – although they could have been confused by echoes. When witness Sam Holland (viewing the motorcade from on top of the railroad bridge) went behind the picket fence with several of the railroad workers he supervises following the assassination, they discovered fresh footprints in the mud behind the fence. Holland demonstrated where the prints were discovered during the filming of Mark Lane’s documentary, Rush to Judgement.
Holland and several of his workers, such as Thomas Murphy, Richard Dodd, Austin Miller, Walter Winborn, and James Simmons, reported seeing a puff of smoke from the grassy knoll area. Other witnesses such as journalism student Cheryl McKinnon, reporter Ed Johnson, Policeman Earle V. Browne, and Dallas deputy Sheriff W.W Mabra, also observed a puff of smoke from the Grassy knoll area. Both the Zapruder film and the Wiegman film, also show what appears to be smoke from the Grassy knoll area. Yet another bizarre coincidence?
Furthermore, the Nix film (filmed by Orville Nix), shows what appears to be a man with dark hair peak his head over the picket fence immediately following the head shot(s) - just as the President’s limousine begins to speed away from Dealey Plaza. You can see a magnified version of the Nix film on the JFKMURDERSOLVED.com website here, which shows the “man’s” head and hair inside the red circle.
Lone gunman zealots have naturally tried to dismiss any evidence of a shooter behind the picket fence. For example, they claim the smoke seen by the aforementioned witnesses was actually smoke from one of the police motorcycles. However, if this was the case, then many more witnesses on the ground should have seen it. Also, consider the fact that 2 days before the assassination, 2 police officers observed men with rifles, taking aim over the picket fence. Now if these men weren’t part of the conspiracy to kill the President, then what the heck were they doing aiming rifles behind the fence?
Now although neither Bowers or Price reported seeing a man with a rifle behind the fence to either the authorities or to Mark Lane during the filming of Rush to judgement, Bowers did purportedly inform his supervisor, Olan Degaugh, that he saw a man in the parking lot throw what appeared to be a rifle into a car! Perhaps Bowers was too frightened to mention this publically. However, we do know that Bowers informed Mark lane that he saw what he believed to be a flash of light or puff of smoke in the area where he observed the two men standing!
Let me also add that Officer Smith allegedly reported smelling gun smoke, as he rushed up the knoll and behind the fence. In my opinion, the man Officer Smith accosted with Secret Service ID was by all likelihood a conspirator. There is simply no reason to believe otherwise.
There’s also the allegation by assassination witness, Malcolm Summers, who can be seen in the Zapruder driving to the ground following the head shot(s). Summers was featured in Nigel Turner’s documentary series, The men who killed Kennedy. According to Summers, he ran towards the picket fence where he was confronted by a man who had what Summers claimed looked like a little machine gun.
Summers’ credibility has naturally come under attack by lone gunman Zealots. To be honest, I have a hard time believing Summers’ story as well. However, even without Summers’ claim, there is still sufficient evidence of a sniper behind the picket fence. I’ve also mentioned in previous posts that after reading through the work by Pat Speer, I no longer believe the back of President Kennedy’s head was blown out. I believe the shot from behind the picket fence most likely missed the limousine entirely.
Encounter behind the TSBD
Apart from the man Officer Smith encountered behind the picket fence, DPD Sergeant, David V. Harkness, encountered men behind the TSBD following the assassination. These men informed him they were Secret Service agents. Below is the relevant excerpt from Harness’s Warren Commission testimony.
Mr. Belin
Then you went around to the back of the building?
Mr. Harkness
Yes, sir.
Mr. Belin
Was anyone around in the back when you got there?
Mr. Harkness
There were some Secret Service agents there. I didn't get them identified. They told me they were Secret Service.
Harkness’s encounter with the “Secret Service” men occurred at least 5 minutes following the assassination. As I previously mentioned, no genuine Secret service agents were in Dealey Plaza immediately following the assassination. The first genuine Secret Service agent in Dealey Plaza was Forrest Sorrels, after returning from Parkland Hospital.
As is the case with the fake Secret Service agent which Officer Joe Marshall Smith accosted behind the picket fence, lone gunman Zealots have tried to dismiss Harkness’s encounter as being a case of misidentification. For example, many of these Zealots claim the men Harkness encountered were in fact ATF agents – who ran into Dealey Plaza following the assassination. Their Offices were located along Commerce Street.
The problem is that Harkness specifically said the men told him they were Secret Service agents. Why on Earth would the ATF agents (had they actually gone behind the TSBD) inform Harkness that they were Secret Service agents? It makes no sense. Also bear in mind that no ATF agents ever came forward identifying themselves as the men behind the TSBD who encountered Harkness.
Others have claimed that the Secret Service man Harkness encountered was Forrest Sorrels. The problem is Harkness claimed there were some secret service men, and that they had told him they were Secret Service agents. Yet Sorrels was the only Secret Service agent in Dealey Plaza after he had returned from Parkland hospital.
It’s quite clear the men Harkness encountered were impersonating Secret Service agents, and were by all likelihood conspirators. Vincent Bugliosi tried desperately to dismiss the impersonators as actually being police officers. What a load of garbage! Does Bugliosi actually believe that Harkness’s fellow police officers would inform him they were Secret Service agents? Does he also believe that Harkness wouldn’t have recognised them as being his fellow Police Officers? Honestly, the desperation of lone gunman kooks to dismiss any notion of a conspiracy is beyond ridiculous.
Roger Craig’s encounter
Dallas deputy Sheriff, Roger Craig, also claimed to encounter a man identifying himself as a Secret Service agent following the assassination. Craig wrote about his encounter with the “Secret Service” man in his report to Sheriff Bill Decker.
“I was standing in front of the Sheriff's Office at 505 Main Street, Dallas, Texas, watching President Kennedy pass in the motorcade. I was watching the rest of the motorcade a few seconds after President Kennedy passed where I was standing when I heard a rifle shot and a few seconds later a second and then a third shot. At the retort [sic] of the first shot, I started running around the corner and Officer Buddy Walthers and I ran across Houston Street and on up the terrace on Elm Street and into the railroad yards. We made a [unintelligible -- search?] through the railroad yards and I returned to Elm Street by the Turnpike sign at which time Officer Walthers told me that a bullet had struck the curb on the south side of Elm Street. I crossed to Elm with Deputy C. L. Lummie Lewis [sic] to search for a spot where a shell might have hit. About this time I heard a shrill whistle and I turned around and saw a white male running down the hill from the direction of the Texas School Book Depository building and I saw what I think was a light colored Rambler Station [sic] wagon with [a] luggage rack on top pull over to the curb and the subject who had come running down the hill got into the car. The man driving this station wagon was a dark complected white male. I tried to get across the street to stop the car and talk with subjects, but the traffic was so heavy, I could not make it. I reported this incident at once to a secret service [sic] officer whose name I do not know, then I left this area and went at once to the building and assisted in the search of the building.”
The man Craig encountered could not have been Forrest Sorrels, as Craig observed the Rambler station Wagon between 10 to 15 minutes following the assassination, and Sorrel’s had yet to arrive in Dealey Plaza. Also, Sorrel’s makes no mention of any conversation with Craig in any of his statements/testimony. Years later, Craig would learn the man he had encountered was Edgar Eugene Bradley. Bradley was charged by Jim Garrison as being part of the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. Bradley’s complicity in the assassination has never been established. However, he should not be dismissed as a suspect.
Jim Braden/ Eugene Brading
Then there’s also Jim Braden aka Eugene Brading. Braden was a con man who had been involved with the mafia as a money courier. Braden was inside the Dal- Tex building during the assassination. Braden was taken to the Sheriff’s office for questioning, when an elevator operator observed Braden acting suspicious. Now Braden didn’t have a weapon or fake Secret Service ID on him when arrested. However, his presence inside the building with the best location of placing a back-up shooter is certainly a fact which needs to be seriously considered. I don’t believe Braden’s presence in the building on the day of President Kennedy’s assassination was just a coincidence.
JFK assassination researcher, William Kelly, is widely considered the leading expert on Jim Braden. He believes that Braden was most likely not a shooter, and I agree. However, I do believe he was part of the conspiracy. In my opinion, his role was to deliberately act suspicious and be taken out of the front of the building, to enable the actually shooter(s) to escape through the back.
Think about it. If you were a conspirator escaping with a disassembled rifle (probably in a suitcase), you would most logically escape though the back, right? Therefore, wouldn’t you have someone deliberately act suspicious to be taken out the front of the building, in order to try and keep the police away from the back of the building? I sure would.
Let’s keep in mind that nobody else inside the Dal -Tex building during the assassination, was interviewed by the DPD, the Sheriff’s office, FBI, and Secret Service and asked if they had seen suspicious looking men inside the building! What an absolute disgrace! As I have stated many times previously, there is no doubt in my mind that there was a sniper located inside the Dal-Tex building – most likely on the 7th floor. There is also no doubt in my mind that any conspirators inside the building, had fake Secret Service ID with them, and may have even shown them to several workers inside the building.
Many researchers believe the man with the dark hat and sunglasses, captured in a photograph standing behind assassination witness Charles Brehm, was in fact Jim Braden. The same man can be seen in a photograph, outside Parkland Memorial hospital, standing with Robert Oswald (Lee Harvey Oswald’s brother)! Now what the heck is this man who was in Dealey Plaza immediately following the assassination, doing at the very hospital in which President Kennedy was taken – with the brother of his accused assassin?
This is a pertinent question which needs to be answered. For lone gunman Zealots to simply dismiss it as being irrelevant, just shows their disregard for the truth behind President Kennedy’s assassination.
Encounter at the Jefferson branch Library
Aside from the men in Dealey Plaza claiming to be Secret Service agents, DPD Officers encountered men at the Jefferson branch Library (located on Jefferson Blvd.), who identified themselves as Secret Service agents. The Dallas Police had converged on the Library following the sighting of a man by DPD Officer, Charles T. Walker. Walker believed the man matched the description of the Tippit murder suspect, and informed the Police dispatcher that the suspect ran into the Library.
The man was later identified as Adrian Hamby, a 19 year Library page who ran into the Library to inform the occupants that President Kennedy had been shot. The DPD Officers had comforted Hamby as he exited the Library upon their demand. At this point, men identifying themselves as Secret Service agents informed the DPD Officers that Hamby wasn’t the man they were after.
The encounter with the Secret Service men was recorded by DPD detective, Marvin A. Buhk, in his report to DPD chief, Jesse Curry. The following is the relevant excerpt from Buhk’s report.
“We next heard the call regarding the suspect being in the branch Library on Jefferson. We converged on that location and there were Secret Service men and other patrol and CID officers present when all the people were ordered out of the building. One of the Secret Service men stated the person who came out of the basement with the others was not the suspect and that he had already talked to him a few minutes previously.”
Buhk claims that the Secret Service men spoke to the man – who was Adrian Hamby. This was confirmed by Hamby, who claimed he was informed by “men in suits” that the President had been shot. Now what the heck are we to decipher from this bizarre episode? There are no reports by the Secret Service which confirm any of their agents were at the Library when the DPD arrived there. Also, no Secret Service agents ever came forward to claim they were present at the Library. Therefore, like the “Secret Service” men in Dealey Plaza, these men were by all likelihood imposters.
The obvious questions is: what were these men doing there? Was their purpose to provide cover for Tippit’s murderer, as the Police were frantically searching for him? I believe the answer to that question could very well be yes. Are we to honestly believe that Buhk and his fellow Officers, could have mistaken some of their own Officers as Secret Service men? Well, if you’re a lone gunman Zealot you probably would believe it, but I think it is a completely ridiculous notion!
Let me conclude by saying that there is absolutely no reason to dismiss any of the reports of Secret Service impersonators as being misidentifications. Lone gunman zealots have tried their best to debunk all accounts of fake Secret Service agents, but have not even come close to being successful.
Addendum
After reading through Larry Hancock’s excellent book Someone would have talked (3rd edition), I realised that I had neglected to mention that Dallas deputy Sheriff W.W Mabra claimed in his report to Sheriff Bill Decker that he had encountered a man whom he believed was a City Officer. According to Mabra, the “Officer” explained the following to him
“I was stationed in rail yards and had this entire area in view. Nobody came this way."
The problem is that no DPD Officer had been stationed in the rail yards! There is nothing in the records of the DPD that an Officer had been stationed there – when there should have been. If Mabra’s claim is true, it would seem there was another imposter in Dealey Plaza, in addition to the ones mentioned above.
However, in light of the fact that the aforementioned imposters identified themselves as Secret Service agents to Officers Joe Marshall Smith and Sgt David V. Harkness, it seems strange that one of them would identify himself as a City Officer to Mabra. Of course, the possibility exists that Mabra was simply mistaken about the man identifying himself as a City officer.
