Post by John Duncan on Feb 23, 2024 20:53:38 GMT -5
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www.kennedysandking.com/images/2018/tippit-dieugenio/tippit.jpg
The Top Ten Record Store
By Raymond Gallagher 12/11
Louis Cortinis was an eighteen-year-old clerk in the Top Ten Record Shop, located at 338 West Jefferson Boulevard, in Dallas, Texas, on the morning of November 22, 1963. He claims to have been on duty behind the counter when Officer J.D. Tippit appeared in the store at about 1:00 p.m. and asked to use the phone.
In 1981, during an interview, Cortinis claimed:
"He was behind the counter at the Top Ten Record Shop, 338 West Jefferson Boulevard, on November 22, 1963. Police Officer, J.D. Tippit parked his car on Bishop Street, apparently heading North, and came into the shop in a hurry and asked Cortinis if he could use the phone at the counter. He recalls Tippit being in such a hurry that he had to ask people in the narrow aisle to step aside.
"Tippit said nothing over the phone, apparently not getting an answer. He stood there long enough for it to ring seven or eight times. Tippit hung up the phone and walked off fast, he was upset or
worried about something.
"Tippit sped away in his squad car across Jefferson, down Bishop, to Sunset where he ran a stop sign and turned right down Sunset. "Maybe 10, no more than 10 minutes Tippit had left when I heard he had been shot on the radio."
On a visit to this Oak Cliff neighborhood, I believe, one would see that, in 1963, both Jefferson and Sunset run parallel from East to West and Bishop runs North to South. Also, since Bishop is a thru street, traffic has the right of way and there was no stop sign at the corner of Bishop and Sunset for Tippit to crash.
The Top Ten was (is) not the corner store and had windows only on the front, so unless Contraris exited the store to observe Tippit, he could not have seen the police car parked on Bishop, and even if he was able to see the officer drive North on Bishop, he probably could not have been able to watch the car as it reached the corner of Bishop and Sunset, since buildings across the street and along the east side of Bishop would have blocked his view.
The point is that it is doubtful that the clerk was telling the truth.
Let us look at some of the statements that Cortinas made that some researchers have questioned.
1: Cortinas could not have seen if Tippit’s squad car was parked on Bishop Ave.
This is true, the record shop is one store east of Bishop Ave. and you cannot see south on Bishop Ave. From the inside of the record shop. A possible explanation is that when Tippit left the record shop Cortinas saw him walk out the door and immediately walk in the direction of Bishop, then seconds later he observed Tippit’s squad car speed across Jefferson Blvd. going North on Bishop Ave. Cortinas could have assumed that Tippit’s squad car was parked pointing north on Bishop Ave. The reason being that Cortinas’ observation of the short amount of time in which Tippit was able to get to the car and get across the intersection of West Jefferson Blvd. traveling north meant that Tippit’s squad car was close by and pointing in the direction he drove in seconds later.
2: Cortinas could not have seen Tippit run a stop sign and go right on Sunset from behind the counter at the record shop. View out the front window of the record shop from behind the counter.
I have taken photographs of the view out the front window of the record shop from behind the counter (thank you Mike Polk!). Directly across West Jefferson Blvd. from the Top Ten there is parking along the East Side of Bishop Ave. The first impression is that the cars parked there would block the view of the intersection of Bishop Ave and Sunset Ave. from behind the counter. When I was behind the counter taking the photographs, I was able to see if a car was making a right turn on Sunset Ave. in the gap between the windshield of the cars and the outside wall of the building, even if there were several cars parked along the east side of Bishop Ave. Also, from behind the counter you can clearly observe if a car would go straight or take a left at the corner of Sunset Ave. and Bishop Ave.
3: Tippit had to have left the record shop more than 10 minutes before it was announced on the radio that a police officer had been shot in Oak Cliff.
We will probably never know the exact time that Tippit left the Top Ten Record Shop or the exact moment that he was killed*. Every person’s perception of time is different to some 10 minutes could seem like an hour and to others it could feel like less than a few minutes. Correctly estimating time is a skill that many people do not have.
[*The JFK Assassination Board does not agree with the statement about not knowing when JDT was killed as there is ample evidence showing he was killed at about 1:06 pm instead of the "around 1:16 pm" the Warren Commission claimed.]
One of the first reports of a policeman being shot in Oak Cliff was on Dallas radio station KLIF at 1:33 P.M. (National Archives) Cortinas then drove off in Stark’s new car around the neighborhood and then noticed a commotion at the Texas Theatre and watched as the police brought out [Lee Harvey] Oswald and threw him into the police car, these activities at the theatre were at about 1:50 P.M. (Channel One Transcript-Kimbrough/Shearer)
If we go back 10 minutes from the first radio report of the shooting at 1:33 that would mean Tippit was in the record shop at 1:23 P.M. which is an impossibility since this was the approximate time that Tippit’s body arrived at Methodist Hospital by ambulance. (HSCA interview of ambulance driver Clayton Butler, RIF 180-10107-10180).
The time frames here suggest the possibility that Cortinas could have heard the news on the radio at 1:33P.M. or later and then drove around until he saw the activity at the Texas Theatre. Cortinas’ estimate that he heard the radio broadcast 10 minutes after Tippit left could be an honest mistake explained by Cortinas’ perception of 10 minutes as compared with the actual amount of time that had gone by.
Dub Stark, the owner and Cortinis' boss, stated that, "Tippit parked his patrol car outside. His partner was not with him on this occasion...he had just enough time to get to the place where he was shot."
Tippit did not have his partner with him on this occasion, or on any other occasion since daylight patrols traveled alone.
Cortinis also claimed that he knew Tippit from other experience, "having been ticketed many times for drag racing near Austin's Barbecue."
Tippit did work at Austin's two nights a week, but it is unlikely that he went into the street to ticket drag racers.
It has been estimated that Tippit was in the Top Ten at 1:00 p.m. If so, it is impossible to know, from the radio, that Tippit was shot ten minutes after leaving the shop. The officer's name was not known until later in the day.
Tippit was reported seen at approximately 12:45 to 1:00 p.m., at the Gloco gas station at 1502 North Zangs Boulevard. Since he went East on Sunset, towards Zangs, from the Top Ten, it is possible that he had been in the record store before 1:00 p.m., but a police car was seen in front of 1026 North Beckley, where Oswald rented a room, at 1:00 p.m., and a right turn on Sunset would have taken him in the direction of the rooming house as well.
I find it hard to believe that Tippit was ever in the Top Ten Record Shop on November 22, 1963, but staying in business is important and the store, as far as I know, is still operating. The story about JD's visit paid off thanks to Louis Cortinis.
www.kennedysandking.com/images/2018/tippit-dieugenio/tippit.jpg
The Top Ten Record Store
By Raymond Gallagher 12/11
Louis Cortinis was an eighteen-year-old clerk in the Top Ten Record Shop, located at 338 West Jefferson Boulevard, in Dallas, Texas, on the morning of November 22, 1963. He claims to have been on duty behind the counter when Officer J.D. Tippit appeared in the store at about 1:00 p.m. and asked to use the phone.
In 1981, during an interview, Cortinis claimed:
"He was behind the counter at the Top Ten Record Shop, 338 West Jefferson Boulevard, on November 22, 1963. Police Officer, J.D. Tippit parked his car on Bishop Street, apparently heading North, and came into the shop in a hurry and asked Cortinis if he could use the phone at the counter. He recalls Tippit being in such a hurry that he had to ask people in the narrow aisle to step aside.
"Tippit said nothing over the phone, apparently not getting an answer. He stood there long enough for it to ring seven or eight times. Tippit hung up the phone and walked off fast, he was upset or
worried about something.
"Tippit sped away in his squad car across Jefferson, down Bishop, to Sunset where he ran a stop sign and turned right down Sunset. "Maybe 10, no more than 10 minutes Tippit had left when I heard he had been shot on the radio."
On a visit to this Oak Cliff neighborhood, I believe, one would see that, in 1963, both Jefferson and Sunset run parallel from East to West and Bishop runs North to South. Also, since Bishop is a thru street, traffic has the right of way and there was no stop sign at the corner of Bishop and Sunset for Tippit to crash.
The Top Ten was (is) not the corner store and had windows only on the front, so unless Contraris exited the store to observe Tippit, he could not have seen the police car parked on Bishop, and even if he was able to see the officer drive North on Bishop, he probably could not have been able to watch the car as it reached the corner of Bishop and Sunset, since buildings across the street and along the east side of Bishop would have blocked his view.
The point is that it is doubtful that the clerk was telling the truth.
Let us look at some of the statements that Cortinas made that some researchers have questioned.
1: Cortinas could not have seen if Tippit’s squad car was parked on Bishop Ave.
This is true, the record shop is one store east of Bishop Ave. and you cannot see south on Bishop Ave. From the inside of the record shop. A possible explanation is that when Tippit left the record shop Cortinas saw him walk out the door and immediately walk in the direction of Bishop, then seconds later he observed Tippit’s squad car speed across Jefferson Blvd. going North on Bishop Ave. Cortinas could have assumed that Tippit’s squad car was parked pointing north on Bishop Ave. The reason being that Cortinas’ observation of the short amount of time in which Tippit was able to get to the car and get across the intersection of West Jefferson Blvd. traveling north meant that Tippit’s squad car was close by and pointing in the direction he drove in seconds later.
2: Cortinas could not have seen Tippit run a stop sign and go right on Sunset from behind the counter at the record shop. View out the front window of the record shop from behind the counter.
I have taken photographs of the view out the front window of the record shop from behind the counter (thank you Mike Polk!). Directly across West Jefferson Blvd. from the Top Ten there is parking along the East Side of Bishop Ave. The first impression is that the cars parked there would block the view of the intersection of Bishop Ave and Sunset Ave. from behind the counter. When I was behind the counter taking the photographs, I was able to see if a car was making a right turn on Sunset Ave. in the gap between the windshield of the cars and the outside wall of the building, even if there were several cars parked along the east side of Bishop Ave. Also, from behind the counter you can clearly observe if a car would go straight or take a left at the corner of Sunset Ave. and Bishop Ave.
3: Tippit had to have left the record shop more than 10 minutes before it was announced on the radio that a police officer had been shot in Oak Cliff.
We will probably never know the exact time that Tippit left the Top Ten Record Shop or the exact moment that he was killed*. Every person’s perception of time is different to some 10 minutes could seem like an hour and to others it could feel like less than a few minutes. Correctly estimating time is a skill that many people do not have.
[*The JFK Assassination Board does not agree with the statement about not knowing when JDT was killed as there is ample evidence showing he was killed at about 1:06 pm instead of the "around 1:16 pm" the Warren Commission claimed.]
One of the first reports of a policeman being shot in Oak Cliff was on Dallas radio station KLIF at 1:33 P.M. (National Archives) Cortinas then drove off in Stark’s new car around the neighborhood and then noticed a commotion at the Texas Theatre and watched as the police brought out [Lee Harvey] Oswald and threw him into the police car, these activities at the theatre were at about 1:50 P.M. (Channel One Transcript-Kimbrough/Shearer)
If we go back 10 minutes from the first radio report of the shooting at 1:33 that would mean Tippit was in the record shop at 1:23 P.M. which is an impossibility since this was the approximate time that Tippit’s body arrived at Methodist Hospital by ambulance. (HSCA interview of ambulance driver Clayton Butler, RIF 180-10107-10180).
The time frames here suggest the possibility that Cortinas could have heard the news on the radio at 1:33P.M. or later and then drove around until he saw the activity at the Texas Theatre. Cortinas’ estimate that he heard the radio broadcast 10 minutes after Tippit left could be an honest mistake explained by Cortinas’ perception of 10 minutes as compared with the actual amount of time that had gone by.
Dub Stark, the owner and Cortinis' boss, stated that, "Tippit parked his patrol car outside. His partner was not with him on this occasion...he had just enough time to get to the place where he was shot."
Tippit did not have his partner with him on this occasion, or on any other occasion since daylight patrols traveled alone.
Cortinis also claimed that he knew Tippit from other experience, "having been ticketed many times for drag racing near Austin's Barbecue."
Tippit did work at Austin's two nights a week, but it is unlikely that he went into the street to ticket drag racers.
It has been estimated that Tippit was in the Top Ten at 1:00 p.m. If so, it is impossible to know, from the radio, that Tippit was shot ten minutes after leaving the shop. The officer's name was not known until later in the day.
Tippit was reported seen at approximately 12:45 to 1:00 p.m., at the Gloco gas station at 1502 North Zangs Boulevard. Since he went East on Sunset, towards Zangs, from the Top Ten, it is possible that he had been in the record store before 1:00 p.m., but a police car was seen in front of 1026 North Beckley, where Oswald rented a room, at 1:00 p.m., and a right turn on Sunset would have taken him in the direction of the rooming house as well.
I find it hard to believe that Tippit was ever in the Top Ten Record Shop on November 22, 1963, but staying in business is important and the store, as far as I know, is still operating. The story about JD's visit paid off thanks to Louis Cortinis.