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

This is Part 6 by John Armstrong, covering what happened at the Texas Theater. 

HARVEY OSWALD IS ARRESTED

The police who arrived at the front of the theater arrested HARVEY Oswald, grabbed the murder weapon, handcuffed Oswald, and Westbrook then ordered his officers to “cover his face” and “get him out of here” (“cover his face” because Westbrook knew that LEE Oswald was still in the balcony). Westbrook also ordered Detective Taylor, Lt. Cunningham, and J.B. Tony "to take the names and addresses of the occupants of the theater." These officers would likely have turned their completed lists over to the man who gave them the order, Captain Westbrook. But these lists of theater patrons, like the Westbrook wallet at 10^th & Patton, disappeared and were never seen again. There was no chain of evidence regarding the list of theater patrons or the wallet, no police reports, and both items simply disappeared. The WC failed, perhaps intentionally, to ask Taylor, Cunningham, or Tony what they did with their completed lists.

As HARVEY Oswald was taken out the front of the theater a DPD officer told Julia Postal, "we have our man on both counts." Julia said this was the first time she heard of Tippit's death and the officers arresting Oswald had identified him by calling his name-- "Oswald" (interview with Julia Postal by SA Carter 2/28/64).  The DPD officer could well have been Captain Westbrook. 

HARVEY Oswald, wearing a brown shirt, was brought out the front entrance of the Texas Theater and placed in a police car. Stuart L. Reed, the 30-year army veteran who took photos of McWatters' bus on Elm St., another photo of McWatters' bus near the TSBD, and a photo of the 6th floor window at the TSBD, was now taking photos of HARVEY Oswald's arrest. 

NOTE: Stuart Reed took all of these photos, which sequentially followed Oswald's movements, within 1 1/2 hours. Reed dropped his film off at a photo lab in Dallas, and then hurried to New Orleans to catch a boat to the Canal Zone. Prior to boarding the boat, Reed signed an authorization that allowed the FBI to pick up his developed photo slides in Dallas. The FBI told the WC that a government executive (Reed), answering to the military, took the photos. This seemed to satisfy the WC, and Reed dropped out of sight without ever seeing his photos.

Cashier Julia Postal told the Warren Commission that she sold 24 tickets that day. After HARVEY was arrested Lt. E.L. Cunningham, Detective E.E. Taylor, Detective John Toney, and officer C.F. Bentley were ordered to search and obtain the names and addresses of theater patrons. This list, or lists, contained the names of people who could have confirmed what Jack Davis said--that HARVEY Oswald was in the theater at or before 1:10 PM. This list would also have contained the name of the man confronted on the stairs leading to the balcony by Deputy Sheriff Courson, Cunningham, and Toney. This list could also have contained the name of Oswald's contact at the theater and the unidentified "manager on duty". But this list was never entered into police evidence, nor were there any police reports about this list, nor were any police officers asked about the names and/or identities of anyone on this list by the FBI or the Warren Commission. The normal procedure would have been for these police officers to give their lists to the senior officer in charge, Captain Westbrook. But these lists quickly disappeared and no efforts were made to locate them. Just like the wallet at 10th & Patton, and the identity of the man standing next his truck in the alley, these lists quickly disappeared and were never seen again. There was no chain of evidence regarding the list of theater patrons or the wallet, no police reports, and both items simply disappeared. The WC failed, perhaps intentionally, to ask Taylor, Cunningham, or Tony what they did with their completed lists.

HARVEY OSWALD'S WALLET

After police escorted (HARVEY) Oswald out the front of the theater, they placed (HARVEY) Oswald in the center of the back seat of the squad car, with officer C.W. Walker on his left and detective Paul Bentley on his right. Officer Bob Carrol was driving with officer K.E. Lyons on the right side and officer Gerry Hill in the middle.

Mr. Belin. Now after, from the time you started in motion until the time you called in, do you remember anyone saying anything at all in the car?

Mr. Hill. The suspect was asked what his name was.

Mr. Belin. What did he say?

Mr. Hill. He never did answer. He just sat there.

Mr. Belin. Was he asked where he lived?

Mr. Hill. That was the second question that was asked the suspect, and he didn't answer it, either. About the time I got through with the radio transmission, I asked Paul Bentley, "Why don't you see if he has any identification."Paul was sitting sort of sideways in the seat, and with his right hand he reached down and felt of the suspect's left hip pocket and said, "Yes, he has a billfold," and took it out. I never did have the billfold in my possession, but the name Lee Oswald was called out by Bentley from the back seat, and said this identification, I believe, was on the library card. And he also made the statement that there was some more identification in this other name which I don't remember, but it was the same name that later came in the paper that he bought the gun under.

Bentley told WFAA-TV (11/23/63), "I removed his wallet from his back pocket and obtained his identification." Sgt. Hill said, "the only way we found out what his name was was to remove his billfold and check it ourselves; he wouldn't even tell us what his name was." Paul Bentley removed HARVEY Oswald's wallet from his left rear pocket en route to the DPD headquarters (along with Officers Carrol, Hill, Walker and Lyons) and found identification for "Lee Harvey Oswald" and "A. J. Hidell"--similar to the identification found in the wallet that had suddenly appeared in the hands of Captain Westbrook.  The Dallas Police were now in possession of two wallets, both containing identification for Lee Harvey Oswald and Alek Hidell. These two wallets could have created serious problems, and alerted the public to the possibility of two Lee Harvey Oswalds, if properly identified as evidence and reported. But the wallet that first appeared in the hands of Capt. Westbrook was unexplainable. It could never, ever be made public, and quickly disappeared--last seen in the hands of Capt. Westbrook.

Mr. Belin. Would the name Hidell mean anything? Alek Hidell?

Mr. Hill. That would be similar. I couldn't say specifically that is what it was, because this was a conversation and I never did see it written down, but that sounds like the name that I heard.

Mr. Belin. Was this the first time you learned of the name?

Mr. Hill. Yes; it was.

Mr. Belin. All right; when did you learn of his address?

Mr. Hill. There were two different addresses on the identification. One of them was in Oak Cliff. The other one was in Irving. But as near as I can recall of the conversation in the car, this was strictly conversation, because I didn't read any of the stuff. It didn't have an address on Beckley, that I recall hearing.

Mr. Belin. Was he ever asked again where he lived, up to the time you got to the station?

Mr. Hill. No; I don't believe so, because when Bentley got the identification out, we had two different addresses. We had two different names, and the comment was made, "I guess we are going to have to wait until we get to the station to find out who he actually is."

(HARVEY) Oswald never gave the police his name or address while riding in the squad car to police headquarters.  

NOTE: There were a total of five Oswald wallets: a black plastic wallet (CE 1798); a red billfold found at Ruth Paine's (CE 2003 #382); a brown billfold found at Ruth Paine's (CE 2003 #114); a billfold taken from LHO upon arrest--initialed by HMM (Henry Moore), wallet and contents inventoried and photographed; and the Westbrook wallet, which was not initialed by police, not listed in inventory, not photographed, not mentioned by a single witness to the FBI, WC, HSCA, ARRB, etc. and disappeared, but not before it was filmed by WFAA TV and seen by FBI agent Barrett.

     

From the police dispatch that reported the suspect had gone into the Texas Theater (1:46 PM), it took the police less than 7 minutes to drive from 10th & Patton to the theater, arrest HARVEY, place him in the squad car, and begin driving him to the police station at 1:52 PM.       

Mr. Belin. That last call then was made at 1:53 p.m., in which you advised who was in the car?

Mr. Hill. With us en route to the station.

Mr. Belin. And the first one that you made after you got to the car was at 1:52 p.m.?

CAPTAIN WESTBROOK'S WHEREABOUTS AFTER HARVEY OSWALD'S ARREST

The WC asked Captain Westbrook what he did after Oswald's arrest. Westbrook said that after Oswald was arrested (1:52 PM) he “went back to city hall and resumed my desk.”

Mr. Ball.  Did you see him taken from the theatre?
Mr. Westbrook.  No sir; because I went the other way.
Mr. Ball.  You went to the back?
Mr. Westbrook:  Yes.  He went out the front and I never saw Oswald again--that's the last time I saw him." 

As HARVEY Oswald was en route to the police station Bernard Haire, owner of a hobby shop two doors east of the theater, and theater concessionaire Butch Burroughs saw the police escort LEE Oswald out the rear of the theater. For the next 25 years Mr. Haire thought he had seen the arrest of Oswald. But there is no police report, no record of arrest, nor any mention of a person taken out the rear of the theater. There are, however, several police reports that state Oswald was arrested in the balcony. The police homicide report of Tippit's murder reads, "suspect was later arrested in the balcony of the Texas theater at 231 W. Jefferson." At least two other DPD documents reported the arrest occurred in the balcony. In his report to Captain Gannaway, Dallas Police Detective L.D. Stringfellow wrote: "On Novemberr 22, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested in the balcony of the Texas Theater, 231 West Jefferson Blvd., and was charged with the murder of President John F. Kennedy and the murder of Officer JD Tippit." How could several experienced, career police officers and detectives make such mistakes? 

            See the Dallas Police Homicide Report for "Tippit, JD," which indicates Oswald was arrested in the balcony.  

Perhaps the young man in the balcony who was identified by Deputy Sheriff Bill Courson as LEE Oswald, was arrested. He was probably the man that Mr. Haire saw escorted out the rear of the theater and driven away in a police car. Who would have assisted LEE Oswald and escorted him out the rear of the Texas Theater?  It is nearly certain that Capt. Westbrook, the senior officer in charge at the Texas Theater, knew about HARVEY and LEE. Captain Westbrook may have been in charge of the two uniformed police officers who boarded McWatters bus near the TSBD. Westbrook was the first and only identifiable DPD officer who had possession of Oswald's jacket. Westbrook had the second Oswald wallet at 10th & Patton. Westbrook told DPD officers their suspect was Lee Harvey Oswald. 
As HARVEY Oswald was being led out the front of the theater it was probably Captain Westbrook who told his officers, "don't let anybody see him." And Captain Westbrook may have been the officer who Julia Postal heard say, "we have our man on both counts."  It is likely that Capt. Westbrook was given the lists of theater patrons, which soon disappeared. And it is likely, and probable, that under Westbrook's supervision, LEE Oswald was escorted out the rear of the Texas Theater. Someone then drove LEE Oswald to a two-tone blue 1957 Plymouth that was parked nearby. This person may have been reserve officer Kenneth Croy. Westbrook may not have seen HARVEY Oswald again, but he did see LEE Oswald. 

Continues:

http://oswaldinthedoorway.blogspot.com/2015/04/westbrooks-whereabouts-after-oswalds.html