J.D. Tippit: Warren Commission Files & Documents

Description

The Tragic End of Officer J.D. Tippit

November 22, 1963

• Approx. 12:44 p.m. (15 minutes after the shooting of President Kennedy): J.D. Tippit, an 11-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, is on duty patrolling beat number 78 in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. He has received a description of the assassin as a 5’10” slender white male, in his early 30s, weighing approximately 165 lbs.
• Approx. 1:14 p.m.: Officer Tippit pulls his patrol car up to a pedestrian, later identified as Lee Harvey Oswald.
• Approx. 1:14 p.m. (shortly after): Tippit and Oswald exchange words. Tippit then exits his car and walks towards Oswald.
• Approx. 1:14 p.m. (immediately after): Oswald draws a weapon and fires five shots, hitting Officer Tippit four times. J.D. Tippit is killed.
• Post-shooting: Witnesses to Tippit’s shooting, including William W. Scoggins, Domingo Benavides, Ted Callaway, Barbara Jeannette Davis, Virginia Ruth Davis, and Helen Louise Markham, are identified.

November 1963 – September 1964

• The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (the Warren Commission) collects or creates 501 pages of files related to J.D. Tippit, including documents from the FBI, Secret Service, and Dallas Police Department. This material focuses on Lee Harvey Oswald’s activity before and after Tippit’s shooting, witness testimony, and an investigation into whether Tippit knew Jack Ruby.

Undated (but compiled within the given timeframe)

• Officer Tippit’s last radio transmission is transcribed.
• An autopsy report on Officer J.D. Tippit is prepared by Earl F. Rose.
• J.D. Tippit’s Dallas Police Department Personnel Record, including applications, salary cards, and injury notices, is compiled.
• Dallas Police Department Complaints and Commendations File for J.D. Tippit is created.

2017

• 42 pages of FBI files, mostly statements by informants and others contradictory to Warren Commission conclusions about issues related to Tippit, are released by the National Archives and Records Administration’s JFK Assassination Records Review Board.

Cast of Characters

• J.D. Tippit: (September 18, 1924 – November 22, 1963) An 11-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, serving on beat number 78 in Oak Cliff. He was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald approximately 15 minutes after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
• Lee Harvey Oswald: The pedestrian approached by J.D. Tippit and later identified as the individual who drew a weapon and fired five shots, killing Officer Tippit. He was selected from a lineup by witnesses.
• William W. Scoggins: A witness to the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit.
• Domingo Benavides: A witness to the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit.
• Ted Callaway: A witness to the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit.
• Barbara Jeannette Davis: A witness to the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit.
• Virginia Ruth Davis: A witness to the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit.
• Helen Louise Markham: A witness to the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit.
• Earl F. Rose: The individual who conducted and prepared the autopsy report on Officer J.D. Tippit.
• Jack Ruby: A person whose potential connection or acquaintance with J.D. Tippit was investigated by the Warren Commission.
• The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (The Warren Commission): A government body established to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which collected and created numerous files concerning J.D. Tippit, including details of his death, Oswald’s activities, and witness testimonies.
• FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation): A federal agency whose files and investigations are included in the Warren Commission documents and were later released by the National Archives, providing information related to J.D. Tippit, including contradictory statements from informants.
• Secret Service: A federal agency whose documents are included in the Warren Commission files concerning J.D. Tippit.
• Dallas Police Department: The police force for which J.D. Tippit worked. Their records (personnel, complaints, commendations) and radio transmissions are part of the collected files.
• National Archives and Records Administration’s JFK Assassination Records Review Board: The entity responsible for releasing additional FBI files related to the JFK assassination in 2017, some of which covered issues related to J.D. Tippit.