Post by John Duncan on Jun 4, 2021 20:05:57 GMT -5
murderpedia.org/male.R/images/ruby_jack_leon/ruby_137.jpg
Why would Jack say that he entered the basement of the jail via the ramp if he entered the building by another entrance?
By Raymond Gallagher
5/11
Ruby and the Ramp
The Warren Commission claims that Ruby entered the basement of the police station via the Main Street ramp. He did not. He entered the building through a side door that is not less than fifty feet from the door of the Western Union building It is still there.
Why would Jack say that he entered the basement of the jail via the ramp if he entered the building by another entrance? What difference would it make? Everyone knows that he was in the basement and shot Oswald. There is no genuine evidence, other than Jack's own story, that he entered via the ramp. If there is, I sure would like to see it. Even the Warren Wizards doubted the tall tale. After claiming that Ruby entered the basement by way of the ramp, the Report adds:
"Although the sum of the available evidence tends to support Ruby's claim that he entered the Main Street ramp, there is other evidence not consistent with Ruby's story. If Ruby entered by any other means, he would have had to pass through the Police and Courts Building, and then secondly through one of the five doors into the basement, all of which, according to the testimony of police officers were secured ". The testimony was not completely positive about one of the doors. (Report, pp. 221-222)
Both the police and the Commission were concerned about the one door. But they were careful not to investigate the issue to a positive conclusion because it would almost surely implicate one or more members of the Dallas police force.
The door in question was near the passenger elevator that opens into the Municipal Building.
"Despite the thoroughness with which the search was conducted, there still existed one and perhaps two weak points in controlling access to the garage. Testimony did not resolve positively whether or not the stairway door near the public elevators was locked both from the inside and outside as was necessary to secure it effectively. " (Report. p. 212)
In his book Conspiracy, Anthony Summers deals with this particular door:
"In 1979, the Assassination Committee rejected the old story that Ruby got in down the ramp from the street. Following its own research on the spot, it plumped instead for a brand-new hypothesis. The Committee found that Ruby could have got into the basement by slipping down an alleyway at the side of the police station. In the middle of the alley is a door opening onto the ground floor of the building which houses the police station, and from there Ruby could have reached the basement. It was a far less conspicuous means of entry than the ramp route and therefore a better choice for a premeditated approach. The Committee had to consider whether, if he indeed took this route. Ruby would have been stopped by a locked internal door leading to the basement. On this point, it once again encountered the ubiquitous voice of Sergeant (Patrick) Dean. It turned out that he had vacillated in his statements as to whether the door could be opened from the outside. On one occasion he had not answered the question and then said he had been assured by the maintenance man that the door was secure from both sides. Two maintenance men and a porter said the opposite. They asserted it could be opened without using a key, from the direction Ruby would have entered." (p. 469, 1991 edition) The Warren Report provides us with a diagram of the basement of the Dallas Police Building (CE 2179), which shows the three elevators opening into the garage, and the steps, by the elevators that Ruby would have used to gain entrance to the basement. They do not however provide a floor plan of the main floor that would show the alleyway door that Jack surely used to enter the building.
COMM EX 2179
3.bp.blogspot.com/-6y5P6JVmJgM/WRkmLxZAY_I/AAAAAAABLzc/a163MKUoVMcsDmaYajEGSdy3uI5w18Z3ACLcB/s1600/TSBD-Floor-Plan-First-Floor.png
The truth about the door can be seen by anyone who visits the corner of Pearl and Main streets, in Dallas. Standing in front of the former Western Union Office Building, the door to the Municipal Building can be seen . It is less than a child's stone throw away from the door to the Western Union. Additionally, there are over 20 windows on the side of the Municipal Building that could have been used to signal Jack that the transfer was in progress.
I wrote an article in PROBE. March-April, 1999 titled Ruby and the Ramp. I included pictures of the scene showing the door to the side of the police building and the front of the Western Union Office. Perhaps Probe could provide a copy of the article.
From the Chairman's Desk at PROBE Magazine:
"Raymond Galllagher explores the mystery of how Jack Ruby made it so easily and conveniently into the basement of the Dallas jail with such exquisite timing. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words." A book, No More Silence, written by Larry A . Sneed, provides more information on the subject. I will leave that to interested people to read , but it is convincing evidence that Ruby entered by way of the door I described. The Sneed witnesses include police officers, deputy sheriffs, and government officials. Before anyone begins to write negative posts about the contents of this effort, make sure that you have exhausted your own research. Few still believe that Jack entered via the ramp.
ONE MORE TIME
Hopefully, I will use witness testimony to support the proposition that Jack Ruby did not enter the basement of the police building by way of the Main Street ramp. At least three of the police officers told Larry Sneed, author of No More Silence, that Ruby undoubtedly entered the basement via the alleyway doors that ran north and south alongside the Western Union office. Officer Roy Vaughn, who was assigned to guard the top of the Main Street ramp told Sneed: "There was a stairway that went from the first floor down to the basement out of the Municipal Building." Vaughn said , " Very easily somebody could have gone to the back door, which is still there today, opened the door, let somebody in, walked straight and come right into the basement. It wouldn't have been a problem."
The officer explained that, in 1963, there were two possibilities to enter the basement. There was a business college and a cafe NEXT to the Western Union. They have since been torn down, ...Is it important how Ruby entered the police building to shoot Oswald? Maybe not. On the other hand, why would Jack say he went down the ramp? If he entered the building from some other entrance, he could have admitted it. The result was the same-he was able to accomplish his objective. However, if he was in touch with someone from the police department, who was providing him with information about the transfer and aided him in getting into the basement, then there was a reason to lie. Ruby, a long time friend of many members of the department, would not want to reveal the truth about their assistance.
"The rulers of the state are the only ones that should have the privilege of lying, either at home or abroad; they may be allowed to lie for the good of the state." ---- Plato: The Republic
Jack Ruby was interviewed in the Dallas County Jail on Dec. 21, 1963 by FBI SA Hall and Clements regarding his Sunday morning trip to the Western Union office, and his alleged ramp entrance to the basement of the Police Department building. Jack furnished the following information:
After sending the telegram, he left the Western Union office and walked west on the same side of the street, toward the City Hall located on the next corner. Before he reached the Police Department building, he noticed a police officer standing at the entrance to the ramp going into the basement from Main Street, but he did not know the police officer. Just before he reached that point, a police car came out of the basement, and he recognized the driver of the police car as Lieut. PIERCE. He explained he had known Lt. PIERCE for twelve years.
PIERCE did not look toward him or speak to him and Ruby did not speak to Lt. PIERCE. Ruby could not recall seeing anyone in the police car with Lt. PIERCE in either the front or back seat of the police car. As the police car driven by Lt. PIERCE came out of the basement ramp, the officer on duty at the entrance stepped back and walked toward the curb next to the street, with his back toward RUBY. As the police car got even with this officer, the officer stooped down and looked inside the car. At about this time, RUBY had reached the entrance to the Main Street ramp, and he took in the movement of the police car and the officer on duty at the ramp, with a quick glance. Without breaking his stride or hesitating, RUBY turned to his left and walked down the ramp into the basement. As he entered the ramp, he does not recall seeing any person standing around the entrance, and he does not know a former officer named DANIELS. (HAll (C.Ray) Exhibit No. 3, p.11)
At 6:00 pm on the 20th. of November, Jack visited his Trichologist for a baldness treatment which took about 30 minutes. (22 H. 913 and CE 1494) He should have made an appointment with his Optometrist as well-he was not only losing his hair; he was apparently having a problem with his vision as well. On Sunday, as Jack approached Lt. PIERCE'S car at the top of the ramp, he was able to see Pierce who was driving the car, but he did not see Sgt. Putnam who was in the front seat of the patrol car (on Jack's side) or Sgt. Billy Joe Maxey in the back seat. Neither did he see any person standing around the entrance to the ramp. So Ruby failed to see two men in the car with PIERCE and a former police officer , N. J. Daniels, who was standing at the top of the ramp with the single patrolman guarding the entrance , R.E. Vaughn.
"Vaughn denied that the emergence of Lt. Pierce's car from the building distracted him long enough to allow Ruby to enter the ramp unnoticed, and neither he nor any of the three officers in Lt. Pierce's car saw Ruby enter." (WR 221)
HE WHO HATH NOT A GOOD AND READY MEMORY SHOULD NEVER MEDDLE WITH TELLING LIES. --Montaigne: ESSAYS
The alley theory. The alley in question is situated between the Western Union office and the DPD headquarters, running from Main Street to Commerce Street. The alley route was the most likely alternative because of the factors of time and distance, the lack of security in the garage area and along the entire route, and the testimony concerning the security at the doors along the route. This possibility was not considered or investigated by the FBI or the Dallas Police Department and was virtually ignored by the Warren Commission. The timing was so perfect that it made it difficult to accept mere coincidence. In the middle of the alley is a door leading to the first floor of the municipal building.(271) (The municipal building contains both the city hall and the police building. At the street level, the building is divided, although on all other floors it is solid. ) Once inside the door off the alley and in the first floor corridor of the municipal building, a person would normally be able to reach the DPD basement parking lot by either elevator or a fire escape stairway. The stairway has doors at the first floor and the basement. If Ruby had left Western Union and started to walk down Main Street toward Patrolman Vaughn's position, he would have passed the alley and had access to the building.
Although Commission counsels Hubert and Griffin indicated an awareness of the alley in questioning the witnesses, (272) the Warren Commission Report does not mention this possible route.(273) Further, the special DPD investigative unit did not consider it at all.(274) The possibility that Ruby entered via the alley, went down the stairs, (275) and through the basement door is logistically attractive.
Through his knowledge of Dallas police headquarters, Ruby may have been aware of the alley, the stairs ,and the door, and this mode of entry would have been much less conspicuous than the others. It would have enabled Ruby to get in position without having to pass very many persons, since the route went through a fairly empty parking lot in the basement.(276) Further, most, if not all, people were probably focusing on the area nearest to the jail office and ramps, awaiting Oswald's appearance. This path would also have taken Ruby across the garage area and through a railing at a point near the bottom of the Main Street ramp. (277) With respect to timing, Ruby could have entered the basement via this route in the 4 minutes that elapsed between his visit to Western Union and the shooting.(278) On June 26, 1964, an FBI agent walked through the route (including going through the railing near the bottom of the ramp) in response to a request from the Warren Commission; he found that it required 189 steps and 2 minutes and 25 seconds. (279)
Although there were at least three doors along this route, it was possible that they were not or could not be secured. The Warren Commission noted that there were doubts about whether the door at the bottom of the fire escape was secured. (280) John O. Servance, the head porter for these buildings in 1963, said that even when the door at the bottom of the fire escape is locked in such a way as to prevent egress from the basement, a person could still open it from within the stairwell. (281) This was corroborated by two other maintenance employees, Edward Pierce and Louis McKinzie.(282)
Sergeant Dean stated that both he and Sergeant Putnam checked the door prior and found it to be locked from the basement side. When asked by Griffin if he knew that it could still be opened from the inside, Dean at first had no response. (283) Then he said he believed that he and Sergeant Putnam had asked a maintenance man (identity unknown) about this door, and this individual locked it so that a key would be necessary regardless of which side it was to be opened from, (284) contradicting the testimonies of McKinzie and Servance.
Capt. Cecil Talbert's Warren Commission testimony indicated that he did not check this door while he was checking other doors in the area since the usual procedure was to have this door locked at all times after 6 p.m. and always on weekends, and he assumed this was the case. (285)
Edward E. Pierce, also a building maintenance employee, stated that the door leading from the alley into the first floor was constructed in such a manner that it had to be locked from the outside every time an individual left the building in tiffs fashion. Otherwise it would remain open. Pierce said that on Sunday. morning the door was probably opened and closed several times prior to the shooting because the porters were working and needed to get into the alley.. (286) Capt. William Westbrook, a member of the DPD special investigative unit, indicated in 1978 that the alley door was not checked that morning (287) (although his basis for this statement was not clear). Setvance reiterated the mechanics of the alley door to the Warren Commission and added that the third door at issue--the one leading from the first floor corridor to the fire escape stairwell--was also unlocked all the time. (288)
At the very least, this information raises the possibility that the alley door was left open, albeit inadvertently, and that if Ruby had gone through this door, he would then have been able to continue to the basement without locked barricades. Additionally, security at the relevant point in the basement was not airtight. Patrolman Alvin R. Brock had been assigned to watch the door leading from the fire escape and the nearby elevator doors, but he was reassigned by Sergeants Putnam and Dean at 10:45 a.m. (289) Brock had assumed that reservist located in the immediate vicinity would watch these spots. (290)
Brock's reassignment was not unique; other basement personnel, as well as previously unassigned officers and reservists,(291) were given new traffic duties around this time. For instance, Reserve Patrolman G.E. Worley, Jr., was originally assigned to the garage area and was supposed to keep cars from parking in the first two places on the north side of the parking area. He was reassigned between 10:45 and 11 a.m.,(292) which took yet another man out of the area.* The reassignments were the result of a change in the transfer plans. The idea of transporting Oswald in an armored car via Elm Street was dismissed in favor of a route along Main Street, with Oswald in a regular police car. Traffic reassignments became necessary,(293) and Sergeant Dean was so notified by Capt. Talbert.(294) The men originally assigned along Elm Street were reassigned, and several other policemen, such as Officers Brock and Worley, were moved out of the basement, even though nobody knew when Oswald would be transferred.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------¬-----
* See fig. 2, par. 602.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------¬-----
During its investigation of the Oswald shooting, the Dallas Police Department drew up a schematic diagram of the basement, with each person labeled with a number.(295) On this chart, a notation shows that Worley was reassigned at 11 a.m.. Brock at 10:15 a.m. An individual labeled as number 57 is depicted as being at the top of the Main Street ramp. (along with Vaughn and Daniels); another notation states that this person was reassigned at 11 a.m. The key for the diagram does not include a number 57, and the committee did not know who this individual was. Reservist Newman told the Warren Commission that immediately prior to the shooting, there were only two security men in the garage area: himself, located on the far side of the railing next to Chief Curry's parking area, and a regular officer nearby the first aid station in the basement. (296) Patrolman Brock stated that when he left the basement at 10:45 a.m., he noticed the reservist that he had mentioned previously and another reservist in the garage area nearby the bottom of the ramps. (297)
Although Ruby denied the use of the alley when given a polygraph examination,(298) the question was ambiguous as to exactly what "alleyway" meant. The Warren Commission stated that it did not rely on the results of this examination,(299) and an expert committee, panel refused to make any conclusions concerning the test because the procedures used in 1964 were of such poor quality. (300) While other theories are possible involving other entrances to the building, the evidence seems to indicate that they should be judged unlikely, (301) given the timing and the lack of witnesses with
information to support them. (302)
Several miscellaneous considerations concerning the "abortive transfer"(303) should be mentioned. The number of media persons with their investigative curiosities and aggressiveness, compounded by their equipment, created mass confusion in the basement that Sunday morning. Captain Fritz characterized the news media as a mob,(304) Detective C.N. Dhority's term was "bedlam."(305) They had disregarded Dallas Police Department instructions to stay behind the railings on the far side of the ramps (from the jail office); they had moved forward in a "general surge" (306) when Oswald's appearance was imminent. This situation might have aided Ruby's entry by providing a distraction. It would also have given Ruby "some concealment after he entered the basement," (307) essentially precluding his being stopped before the shooting. Additionally, the large number of media necessarily blocked the vision of some Dallas Police Department personnel, (308) as did the lights needed by the television cameras to insure a clear Picture:(309) lights described as "blinding."(310) Detective Harrison specifically remarked that it would have been difficult to recognize a man coming down the Main Street ramp due to the glare in your face." (311)
The evidence available indicates that Jack Ruby did not come down the Main Street ramp when Lieutenant Pierce's car exited. The weight of the eyewitness evidence belies this route, and the testimony of various witnesses who supported this route was often inconsistent and inconclusive. Further, the fact that 55 seconds had elapsed between the time the police car cleared the crowd at the bottom of the ramp and the moment of the shooting militates against the Main Street ramp route. This interval would had to have included driving the car up the ramp, hesitation at the ramp entrance before pulling out into the street, Ruby's walk down the ramp (312) and his momentarily positioning himself behind Detective Harrison's shoulder before darting out to shoot Oswald (a movement which is evident from the video tapes and photographs of the incident). (313) While this amount of action is possible in that time, it is improbable.
The alley route was the most likely alternative because of the factors of time and distance, the lack of security in the garage area and along the entire route, and the testimony concerning the security at the doors along the route. This possibility was not considered or investigated by the FBI or the Dallas Police Department and was virtually ignored by the Warren Commission. However Ruby got into the basement, there was no concrete evidence to show that he received any assistance in doing so from a Dallas Police Department member (314) or anyone else. Ruby himself denied receiving any assistance. (315) The coincidence of the timing of his visit to Western Union and the shooting seems to preclude any of the assistance theories, (316) as did the uncertainty of officials as to exactly when and how Oswald would be transferred. Chief Curry said that there was no possible way for anyone to have known when Oswald was to be moved, including Chief Curry himself. (317) These factors made warnings or signals highly improbable.
Nevertheless, the timing was so perfect that it made it difficult to accept mere coincidence, and it is unlikely that Ruby entered the basement without some-sort of assistance. This might have been in the form of knowledge of the Oswald transfer plans, direct help in entering the basement, or direct help in both entering and shooting Oswald. (318)
mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/jfkinfo/jfk9/hscv9c.htm
COMMISSION EXHIBIT NO. 2179
Pierce, Rio
In 1963, Pierce was a lieutenant in the Dallas Police Patrol Division.
LETTER 1
May 11, 1993
Question : Do you know someone who saw Jack Ruby entering the basement of City Hall when he killed Oswald?
PIERCE : I do not know who is anyone saw Ruby enter the basement.
Question : Captain Frank Martin said to the Warren Commission that 'there is a lot to be said, but I'd probably better not to say it', referring to the murder of Oswald. Do you know what he meant by that?
PIERCE : I never talked to Capt. Frank Martin regarding this matter and would have no idea what it meant.
Question : I enclosed photos showing Deputy Sheriff Eddie Walthers, DPD officer Joe W. Foster and a FBI Agent searching for a bullet in the grass on Elm Street. Do you know who this FBI Agent is?
PIERCE : I do not know this FBI Agent.
Why would Jack say that he entered the basement of the jail via the ramp if he entered the building by another entrance?
By Raymond Gallagher
5/11
Ruby and the Ramp
The Warren Commission claims that Ruby entered the basement of the police station via the Main Street ramp. He did not. He entered the building through a side door that is not less than fifty feet from the door of the Western Union building It is still there.
Why would Jack say that he entered the basement of the jail via the ramp if he entered the building by another entrance? What difference would it make? Everyone knows that he was in the basement and shot Oswald. There is no genuine evidence, other than Jack's own story, that he entered via the ramp. If there is, I sure would like to see it. Even the Warren Wizards doubted the tall tale. After claiming that Ruby entered the basement by way of the ramp, the Report adds:
"Although the sum of the available evidence tends to support Ruby's claim that he entered the Main Street ramp, there is other evidence not consistent with Ruby's story. If Ruby entered by any other means, he would have had to pass through the Police and Courts Building, and then secondly through one of the five doors into the basement, all of which, according to the testimony of police officers were secured ". The testimony was not completely positive about one of the doors. (Report, pp. 221-222)
Both the police and the Commission were concerned about the one door. But they were careful not to investigate the issue to a positive conclusion because it would almost surely implicate one or more members of the Dallas police force.
The door in question was near the passenger elevator that opens into the Municipal Building.
"Despite the thoroughness with which the search was conducted, there still existed one and perhaps two weak points in controlling access to the garage. Testimony did not resolve positively whether or not the stairway door near the public elevators was locked both from the inside and outside as was necessary to secure it effectively. " (Report. p. 212)
In his book Conspiracy, Anthony Summers deals with this particular door:
"In 1979, the Assassination Committee rejected the old story that Ruby got in down the ramp from the street. Following its own research on the spot, it plumped instead for a brand-new hypothesis. The Committee found that Ruby could have got into the basement by slipping down an alleyway at the side of the police station. In the middle of the alley is a door opening onto the ground floor of the building which houses the police station, and from there Ruby could have reached the basement. It was a far less conspicuous means of entry than the ramp route and therefore a better choice for a premeditated approach. The Committee had to consider whether, if he indeed took this route. Ruby would have been stopped by a locked internal door leading to the basement. On this point, it once again encountered the ubiquitous voice of Sergeant (Patrick) Dean. It turned out that he had vacillated in his statements as to whether the door could be opened from the outside. On one occasion he had not answered the question and then said he had been assured by the maintenance man that the door was secure from both sides. Two maintenance men and a porter said the opposite. They asserted it could be opened without using a key, from the direction Ruby would have entered." (p. 469, 1991 edition) The Warren Report provides us with a diagram of the basement of the Dallas Police Building (CE 2179), which shows the three elevators opening into the garage, and the steps, by the elevators that Ruby would have used to gain entrance to the basement. They do not however provide a floor plan of the main floor that would show the alleyway door that Jack surely used to enter the building.
COMM EX 2179
3.bp.blogspot.com/-6y5P6JVmJgM/WRkmLxZAY_I/AAAAAAABLzc/a163MKUoVMcsDmaYajEGSdy3uI5w18Z3ACLcB/s1600/TSBD-Floor-Plan-First-Floor.png
The truth about the door can be seen by anyone who visits the corner of Pearl and Main streets, in Dallas. Standing in front of the former Western Union Office Building, the door to the Municipal Building can be seen . It is less than a child's stone throw away from the door to the Western Union. Additionally, there are over 20 windows on the side of the Municipal Building that could have been used to signal Jack that the transfer was in progress.
I wrote an article in PROBE. March-April, 1999 titled Ruby and the Ramp. I included pictures of the scene showing the door to the side of the police building and the front of the Western Union Office. Perhaps Probe could provide a copy of the article.
From the Chairman's Desk at PROBE Magazine:
"Raymond Galllagher explores the mystery of how Jack Ruby made it so easily and conveniently into the basement of the Dallas jail with such exquisite timing. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words." A book, No More Silence, written by Larry A . Sneed, provides more information on the subject. I will leave that to interested people to read , but it is convincing evidence that Ruby entered by way of the door I described. The Sneed witnesses include police officers, deputy sheriffs, and government officials. Before anyone begins to write negative posts about the contents of this effort, make sure that you have exhausted your own research. Few still believe that Jack entered via the ramp.
ONE MORE TIME
Hopefully, I will use witness testimony to support the proposition that Jack Ruby did not enter the basement of the police building by way of the Main Street ramp. At least three of the police officers told Larry Sneed, author of No More Silence, that Ruby undoubtedly entered the basement via the alleyway doors that ran north and south alongside the Western Union office. Officer Roy Vaughn, who was assigned to guard the top of the Main Street ramp told Sneed: "There was a stairway that went from the first floor down to the basement out of the Municipal Building." Vaughn said , " Very easily somebody could have gone to the back door, which is still there today, opened the door, let somebody in, walked straight and come right into the basement. It wouldn't have been a problem."
The officer explained that, in 1963, there were two possibilities to enter the basement. There was a business college and a cafe NEXT to the Western Union. They have since been torn down, ...Is it important how Ruby entered the police building to shoot Oswald? Maybe not. On the other hand, why would Jack say he went down the ramp? If he entered the building from some other entrance, he could have admitted it. The result was the same-he was able to accomplish his objective. However, if he was in touch with someone from the police department, who was providing him with information about the transfer and aided him in getting into the basement, then there was a reason to lie. Ruby, a long time friend of many members of the department, would not want to reveal the truth about their assistance.
"The rulers of the state are the only ones that should have the privilege of lying, either at home or abroad; they may be allowed to lie for the good of the state." ---- Plato: The Republic
Jack Ruby was interviewed in the Dallas County Jail on Dec. 21, 1963 by FBI SA Hall and Clements regarding his Sunday morning trip to the Western Union office, and his alleged ramp entrance to the basement of the Police Department building. Jack furnished the following information:
After sending the telegram, he left the Western Union office and walked west on the same side of the street, toward the City Hall located on the next corner. Before he reached the Police Department building, he noticed a police officer standing at the entrance to the ramp going into the basement from Main Street, but he did not know the police officer. Just before he reached that point, a police car came out of the basement, and he recognized the driver of the police car as Lieut. PIERCE. He explained he had known Lt. PIERCE for twelve years.
PIERCE did not look toward him or speak to him and Ruby did not speak to Lt. PIERCE. Ruby could not recall seeing anyone in the police car with Lt. PIERCE in either the front or back seat of the police car. As the police car driven by Lt. PIERCE came out of the basement ramp, the officer on duty at the entrance stepped back and walked toward the curb next to the street, with his back toward RUBY. As the police car got even with this officer, the officer stooped down and looked inside the car. At about this time, RUBY had reached the entrance to the Main Street ramp, and he took in the movement of the police car and the officer on duty at the ramp, with a quick glance. Without breaking his stride or hesitating, RUBY turned to his left and walked down the ramp into the basement. As he entered the ramp, he does not recall seeing any person standing around the entrance, and he does not know a former officer named DANIELS. (HAll (C.Ray) Exhibit No. 3, p.11)
At 6:00 pm on the 20th. of November, Jack visited his Trichologist for a baldness treatment which took about 30 minutes. (22 H. 913 and CE 1494) He should have made an appointment with his Optometrist as well-he was not only losing his hair; he was apparently having a problem with his vision as well. On Sunday, as Jack approached Lt. PIERCE'S car at the top of the ramp, he was able to see Pierce who was driving the car, but he did not see Sgt. Putnam who was in the front seat of the patrol car (on Jack's side) or Sgt. Billy Joe Maxey in the back seat. Neither did he see any person standing around the entrance to the ramp. So Ruby failed to see two men in the car with PIERCE and a former police officer , N. J. Daniels, who was standing at the top of the ramp with the single patrolman guarding the entrance , R.E. Vaughn.
"Vaughn denied that the emergence of Lt. Pierce's car from the building distracted him long enough to allow Ruby to enter the ramp unnoticed, and neither he nor any of the three officers in Lt. Pierce's car saw Ruby enter." (WR 221)
HE WHO HATH NOT A GOOD AND READY MEMORY SHOULD NEVER MEDDLE WITH TELLING LIES. --Montaigne: ESSAYS
The alley theory. The alley in question is situated between the Western Union office and the DPD headquarters, running from Main Street to Commerce Street. The alley route was the most likely alternative because of the factors of time and distance, the lack of security in the garage area and along the entire route, and the testimony concerning the security at the doors along the route. This possibility was not considered or investigated by the FBI or the Dallas Police Department and was virtually ignored by the Warren Commission. The timing was so perfect that it made it difficult to accept mere coincidence. In the middle of the alley is a door leading to the first floor of the municipal building.(271) (The municipal building contains both the city hall and the police building. At the street level, the building is divided, although on all other floors it is solid. ) Once inside the door off the alley and in the first floor corridor of the municipal building, a person would normally be able to reach the DPD basement parking lot by either elevator or a fire escape stairway. The stairway has doors at the first floor and the basement. If Ruby had left Western Union and started to walk down Main Street toward Patrolman Vaughn's position, he would have passed the alley and had access to the building.
Although Commission counsels Hubert and Griffin indicated an awareness of the alley in questioning the witnesses, (272) the Warren Commission Report does not mention this possible route.(273) Further, the special DPD investigative unit did not consider it at all.(274) The possibility that Ruby entered via the alley, went down the stairs, (275) and through the basement door is logistically attractive.
Through his knowledge of Dallas police headquarters, Ruby may have been aware of the alley, the stairs ,and the door, and this mode of entry would have been much less conspicuous than the others. It would have enabled Ruby to get in position without having to pass very many persons, since the route went through a fairly empty parking lot in the basement.(276) Further, most, if not all, people were probably focusing on the area nearest to the jail office and ramps, awaiting Oswald's appearance. This path would also have taken Ruby across the garage area and through a railing at a point near the bottom of the Main Street ramp. (277) With respect to timing, Ruby could have entered the basement via this route in the 4 minutes that elapsed between his visit to Western Union and the shooting.(278) On June 26, 1964, an FBI agent walked through the route (including going through the railing near the bottom of the ramp) in response to a request from the Warren Commission; he found that it required 189 steps and 2 minutes and 25 seconds. (279)
Although there were at least three doors along this route, it was possible that they were not or could not be secured. The Warren Commission noted that there were doubts about whether the door at the bottom of the fire escape was secured. (280) John O. Servance, the head porter for these buildings in 1963, said that even when the door at the bottom of the fire escape is locked in such a way as to prevent egress from the basement, a person could still open it from within the stairwell. (281) This was corroborated by two other maintenance employees, Edward Pierce and Louis McKinzie.(282)
Sergeant Dean stated that both he and Sergeant Putnam checked the door prior and found it to be locked from the basement side. When asked by Griffin if he knew that it could still be opened from the inside, Dean at first had no response. (283) Then he said he believed that he and Sergeant Putnam had asked a maintenance man (identity unknown) about this door, and this individual locked it so that a key would be necessary regardless of which side it was to be opened from, (284) contradicting the testimonies of McKinzie and Servance.
Capt. Cecil Talbert's Warren Commission testimony indicated that he did not check this door while he was checking other doors in the area since the usual procedure was to have this door locked at all times after 6 p.m. and always on weekends, and he assumed this was the case. (285)
Edward E. Pierce, also a building maintenance employee, stated that the door leading from the alley into the first floor was constructed in such a manner that it had to be locked from the outside every time an individual left the building in tiffs fashion. Otherwise it would remain open. Pierce said that on Sunday. morning the door was probably opened and closed several times prior to the shooting because the porters were working and needed to get into the alley.. (286) Capt. William Westbrook, a member of the DPD special investigative unit, indicated in 1978 that the alley door was not checked that morning (287) (although his basis for this statement was not clear). Setvance reiterated the mechanics of the alley door to the Warren Commission and added that the third door at issue--the one leading from the first floor corridor to the fire escape stairwell--was also unlocked all the time. (288)
At the very least, this information raises the possibility that the alley door was left open, albeit inadvertently, and that if Ruby had gone through this door, he would then have been able to continue to the basement without locked barricades. Additionally, security at the relevant point in the basement was not airtight. Patrolman Alvin R. Brock had been assigned to watch the door leading from the fire escape and the nearby elevator doors, but he was reassigned by Sergeants Putnam and Dean at 10:45 a.m. (289) Brock had assumed that reservist located in the immediate vicinity would watch these spots. (290)
Brock's reassignment was not unique; other basement personnel, as well as previously unassigned officers and reservists,(291) were given new traffic duties around this time. For instance, Reserve Patrolman G.E. Worley, Jr., was originally assigned to the garage area and was supposed to keep cars from parking in the first two places on the north side of the parking area. He was reassigned between 10:45 and 11 a.m.,(292) which took yet another man out of the area.* The reassignments were the result of a change in the transfer plans. The idea of transporting Oswald in an armored car via Elm Street was dismissed in favor of a route along Main Street, with Oswald in a regular police car. Traffic reassignments became necessary,(293) and Sergeant Dean was so notified by Capt. Talbert.(294) The men originally assigned along Elm Street were reassigned, and several other policemen, such as Officers Brock and Worley, were moved out of the basement, even though nobody knew when Oswald would be transferred.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------¬-----
* See fig. 2, par. 602.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------¬-----
During its investigation of the Oswald shooting, the Dallas Police Department drew up a schematic diagram of the basement, with each person labeled with a number.(295) On this chart, a notation shows that Worley was reassigned at 11 a.m.. Brock at 10:15 a.m. An individual labeled as number 57 is depicted as being at the top of the Main Street ramp. (along with Vaughn and Daniels); another notation states that this person was reassigned at 11 a.m. The key for the diagram does not include a number 57, and the committee did not know who this individual was. Reservist Newman told the Warren Commission that immediately prior to the shooting, there were only two security men in the garage area: himself, located on the far side of the railing next to Chief Curry's parking area, and a regular officer nearby the first aid station in the basement. (296) Patrolman Brock stated that when he left the basement at 10:45 a.m., he noticed the reservist that he had mentioned previously and another reservist in the garage area nearby the bottom of the ramps. (297)
Although Ruby denied the use of the alley when given a polygraph examination,(298) the question was ambiguous as to exactly what "alleyway" meant. The Warren Commission stated that it did not rely on the results of this examination,(299) and an expert committee, panel refused to make any conclusions concerning the test because the procedures used in 1964 were of such poor quality. (300) While other theories are possible involving other entrances to the building, the evidence seems to indicate that they should be judged unlikely, (301) given the timing and the lack of witnesses with
information to support them. (302)
Several miscellaneous considerations concerning the "abortive transfer"(303) should be mentioned. The number of media persons with their investigative curiosities and aggressiveness, compounded by their equipment, created mass confusion in the basement that Sunday morning. Captain Fritz characterized the news media as a mob,(304) Detective C.N. Dhority's term was "bedlam."(305) They had disregarded Dallas Police Department instructions to stay behind the railings on the far side of the ramps (from the jail office); they had moved forward in a "general surge" (306) when Oswald's appearance was imminent. This situation might have aided Ruby's entry by providing a distraction. It would also have given Ruby "some concealment after he entered the basement," (307) essentially precluding his being stopped before the shooting. Additionally, the large number of media necessarily blocked the vision of some Dallas Police Department personnel, (308) as did the lights needed by the television cameras to insure a clear Picture:(309) lights described as "blinding."(310) Detective Harrison specifically remarked that it would have been difficult to recognize a man coming down the Main Street ramp due to the glare in your face." (311)
The evidence available indicates that Jack Ruby did not come down the Main Street ramp when Lieutenant Pierce's car exited. The weight of the eyewitness evidence belies this route, and the testimony of various witnesses who supported this route was often inconsistent and inconclusive. Further, the fact that 55 seconds had elapsed between the time the police car cleared the crowd at the bottom of the ramp and the moment of the shooting militates against the Main Street ramp route. This interval would had to have included driving the car up the ramp, hesitation at the ramp entrance before pulling out into the street, Ruby's walk down the ramp (312) and his momentarily positioning himself behind Detective Harrison's shoulder before darting out to shoot Oswald (a movement which is evident from the video tapes and photographs of the incident). (313) While this amount of action is possible in that time, it is improbable.
The alley route was the most likely alternative because of the factors of time and distance, the lack of security in the garage area and along the entire route, and the testimony concerning the security at the doors along the route. This possibility was not considered or investigated by the FBI or the Dallas Police Department and was virtually ignored by the Warren Commission. However Ruby got into the basement, there was no concrete evidence to show that he received any assistance in doing so from a Dallas Police Department member (314) or anyone else. Ruby himself denied receiving any assistance. (315) The coincidence of the timing of his visit to Western Union and the shooting seems to preclude any of the assistance theories, (316) as did the uncertainty of officials as to exactly when and how Oswald would be transferred. Chief Curry said that there was no possible way for anyone to have known when Oswald was to be moved, including Chief Curry himself. (317) These factors made warnings or signals highly improbable.
Nevertheless, the timing was so perfect that it made it difficult to accept mere coincidence, and it is unlikely that Ruby entered the basement without some-sort of assistance. This might have been in the form of knowledge of the Oswald transfer plans, direct help in entering the basement, or direct help in both entering and shooting Oswald. (318)
mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/jfkinfo/jfk9/hscv9c.htm
COMMISSION EXHIBIT NO. 2179
Pierce, Rio
In 1963, Pierce was a lieutenant in the Dallas Police Patrol Division.
LETTER 1
May 11, 1993
Question : Do you know someone who saw Jack Ruby entering the basement of City Hall when he killed Oswald?
PIERCE : I do not know who is anyone saw Ruby enter the basement.
Question : Captain Frank Martin said to the Warren Commission that 'there is a lot to be said, but I'd probably better not to say it', referring to the murder of Oswald. Do you know what he meant by that?
PIERCE : I never talked to Capt. Frank Martin regarding this matter and would have no idea what it meant.
Question : I enclosed photos showing Deputy Sheriff Eddie Walthers, DPD officer Joe W. Foster and a FBI Agent searching for a bullet in the grass on Elm Street. Do you know who this FBI Agent is?
PIERCE : I do not know this FBI Agent.