Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

The testimony of Officer Eugene Barnett is quite revealing: 

Mr. LIEBELER - Did you see any of the shots hit the President?
Mr. BARNETT - Well, when the first shot - I was looking at the President when the first shot was fired, and I thought I saw him slump down, but I am not sure, and I didn't look any more then. I thought he was ducking then.

Interesting. Raises the question: why didn't Kennnedy duck? I know he was hit in the back, but only superficially. He was also hit in the throat, and that's no minor thing. But, after coughing to clear his airway, he seemed to be breathing OK. He wasn't struggling to breathe. Therefore, why didn't he duck?

Kennedy was a military man. He had had been in battle. Fierce naval battles. And he had shown great courage in battle and the ability to think clearly and act decisively under fire. So, why didn't he get a handle on this situation and act defensively? He was a smart man, wasn't he? Why did he continue sitting there like a sitting duck?

From the time of the first shot until the fatal head shot was officially about 6 seconds. That's like an eternity. But wait.

According to Max Holland, it was much more than 6 seconds. According to Max Holland it was over 11 seconds. 11 seconds! 11 seconds for Kennedy to sit there being shot at and not realize that he needed to duck and get his wife to duck?  What was wrong with him? I mean: what was wrong with him mentally?

Mr. LIEBELER - What did you do after you went around behind the building?
Mr. BARNETT - I went looked behind the building and I saw officers searching the railroad cars.

This was immediately after the shots. He ran from Elm and Houston down Houston to get behind the TSBD building. So, it may have been 10 seconds after the last shot. And he saw officers searching the railroad cars. If they were doing that 10 seconds after the last shot, then they were probably doing before the last shot. He didn't say that they just got there or that it looked like they just got there. He said that they were in the midst of doing it. It means that they could have been doing it for quite a while.

Mr. LIEBELER - How long do you think it was from the time the last shot was fired until the time you were at the front door keeping people from going in and out?
Mr. BARNETT - It was around 2 1/2 minutes. Maybe between 2 1/2 or 3 minutes.
Mr. LIEBELER - From the time the last shot was fired until the time you were standing at that front door?
Mr. BARNETT - Yes.
Mr. LIEBELER - Did you let anybody out of the building after you got there?
Mr. BARNETT - No, sir; until they were authorized.
Mr. LIEBELER - Who was in a position to authorize people to come in and out?
Mr. BARNETT - Well, of course, for sometime no one left except city, county, and Federal officers, and then after the people in the building were took into the small room there and questioned, they were brought to the door by a lieutenant, which I don't remember his name, but that was sometime after, and he brought them to the door and told us to let them out.
Mr. LIEBELER - Now, it was possible that people could have left the building between the time the last shot was fired and the time you and officer Smith stationed yourself there?
Mr. BARNETT - When I went to the door to get the name of the building, there were people going in and out then.
Mr. LIEBELER - Do you think it was as quickly as 2 1/2 minutes from the time the last shot was fired until the time you got to the front door? Do you think it was that quick?
Mr. BARNETT - I believe it was 2 1/2 minute probably from the time I ran from the back to the front. That was probably 2 1/2 minutes. Then it took me 20 or 30 seconds more before I got to the front there.
Mr. LIEBELER - So you recollection is that it was fairly short order that you got to the front door?
Mr. BARNETT - Three minutes at the most.
Mr. LIEBELER - You remained there at the door for how long?
Mr. BARNETT - Until 3 o'clock. Close to 12:30 to 3.
Mr. LIEBELER - At which time you were relieved from duty?
Mr. BARNETT - Yes, sir; from that position I had to go back to my regular assignment at Commerce and Akard.
Mr. LIEBELER - Did you notice Oswald around that area at anytime?
Mr. BARNETT - No, sir.
Mr. LIEBELER - Later on you saw his picture in the paper and, of course, on television?
Mr. BARNETT - Yes, sir.
Mr. LIEBELER - You have no recollection of seeing him in the area at all?
Mr. BARNETT - None whatsoever. There were hundreds of people in that intersection.
Mr. LIEBELER - Have you ever talked to any other officers in the department that remember seeing him in the area at all?
Mr. BARNETT - No, I haven't.
Mr. LIEBELER - Have you heard of anybody that saw him there at the time?
Mr. BARNETT - Well, of course, I heard the officers that went up in the building and talked to him.
Mr. LIEBELER - Officer Baker was one?
Mr. BARNETT - I haven't talked to the officer.

Let's consider Oswald's timeline. He left the doorway and went to the lunch room. He had his encounter with Truly and Baker in the lunch room about 90 seconds after the last shot. After they left, he proceeded to get a Coke. (Note: he had no Coke during his encounter with them, but he was observed with a "full" Coke by Mrs. Reid, so he must have gotten his Coke after they left.) Then he had his encounter with Mrs. Reid. Then he went downstairs where he gave two people directions to the pay phone. And then he left.

Keep in mind that that is what we know, but it's based on what other people said: their interactions with him. What time was it that he got outside to begin his trek home? I say the very earliest it could have been was 12:33 but the latest it could have been was 12;35- and so I round it off to 12:34. 

So, where does that fit into Barrett's account?

First, here are Barnett and his partner. 

So, they were guarding the entrance and manning the checkpoint. Notice that both are wearing dark police shirts. However:

Notice that the cop talking to the Oswald-like figure was wearing a white shirt, so he could not have been Barnett or his partner. 

Here is a frame that is claimed to be from the Martin film showing the checkpoint in operation, and presumably, the cops are Barnett and his partner in their dark police shirts. 

Now, Barnett said he was there until 3:00, therefore, at 2:30 (the time claimed for the Three Tramps photo) that should be him or his partner. 

But, it's not since the cop is wearing a white shirt, and they were wearing dark shirts. So, how do you make sense of what Barnett said? You can't. I feel sure that Oswald must have left BEFORE there was any police checkpoint set up because if there was a checkpoint, then his being there and passing through it would have been recorded.  

So, Oswald left the building unfettered; he did not have to pass through a police checkpoint. So, who was that cop in the white shirt talking to the Oswald-like figure? And what time was it? How could it be 2:30 if the dark-shirted Barnett and his partner were there at that time?