J.D. Tippit Warren Commission Vertical Files & Other Documents

Description

The Killing of Officer J.D. Tippit: A Timeline

November 22, 1963

• Approx. 12:44 p.m. CST: Dallas Police Department Officer J.D. Tippit, an 11-year veteran, is on duty patrolling beat number 78 in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas.
• Shortly after 12:44 p.m. CST: A description of President Kennedy’s assassin is broadcast to patrol officers: a 5’10” slender white male, in his early 30s, weighing approximately 165 lbs.
• Approx. 1:14 p.m. CST: Officer Tippit pulls his patrol car up to a pedestrian, later identified as Lee Harvey Oswald, on a Dallas street.
• Approx. 1:14 p.m. CST (Immediately after): Tippit and Oswald exchange words.
• Approx. 1:14 p.m. CST (Immediately after): Tippit exits his patrol car and begins walking towards Oswald.
• Approx. 1:14 p.m. CST (Immediately after): Oswald draws a weapon and fires five shots at Officer Tippit, hitting him four times. J.D. Tippit is killed.

November 1963 – September 1964

• Ongoing: The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, commonly known as the Warren Commission, collects or creates files covering J.D. Tippit. These files total 501 pages and include documents from the FBI, Secret Service, and Dallas Police Department. The Warren Commission focuses on Lee Harvey Oswald’s activities before and after Tippit’s shooting, witness testimonies, and an investigation into whether Tippit knew Jack Ruby.
• Ongoing: Autopsy Report on Officer J. D. Tippit is conducted by Earl F. Rose.
• Ongoing: Statements from informants and others are collected by the FBI, some of which are contradictory to the conclusions reached by the Warren Commission regarding issues related to Tippit.

2017

• Ongoing: 42 pages of mostly FBI Files concerning J.D. Tippit, including contradictory statements, 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 who was on duty patrolling beat number 78 in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas on the day of President Kennedy’s assassination. He was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald approximately 15 minutes after the President’s shooting.
• Lee Harvey Oswald: The pedestrian who was approached by Officer Tippit and subsequently shot and killed Tippit. He was later identified from a lineup.
• William W. Scoggins: A witness to the shooting of Officer Tippit.
• Domingo Benavides: A witness to the shooting of Officer Tippit.
• Ted Callaway: A witness to the shooting of Officer Tippit.
• Barbara Jeannette Davis: A witness to the shooting of Officer Tippit.
• Virginia Ruth Davis: A witness to the shooting of Officer Tippit.
• Helen Louise Markham: A witness to the shooting of Officer Tippit.
• Earl F. Rose: The individual who performed the autopsy on Officer J. D. Tippit.
• Jack Ruby: A person whose potential connection to 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, whose files covered J.D. Tippit and related events.
• FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation): A federal agency whose files and investigations are referenced throughout the collection, providing information on Tippit, Oswald, and contradictory statements.
• Secret Service: A federal agency whose documents are included in the Warren Commission files related to Tippit.
• Dallas Police Department: The police force for which J.D. Tippit worked, and whose records (personnel, complaints, commendations) 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 and J.D. Tippit in 2017.

J.D. Tippit Warren Commission Vertical Files & Other Documents

This collection contains a total of 1,033 pages of files.

J.D. Tippit (September 18, 1924 – November 22, 1963) a 11-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department was on beat number 78 patrolling the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, 15 minutes after the shooting of President Kennedy. A description of the assassin had been given to patrol officers as a 5’10” slender white male, in his early 30s, weighing approximately 165 lbs.

At approximately 1:14 p.m., Tippit drove pulled up to a pedestrian, later selected from a lineup as Lee Harvey Oswald. Witnesses reported that Tippit and Oswald exchanged words, then Tippit exited his car and as he walked toward Oswald, Oswald drew and fired five shots hitting Tippit four times.

Files in this collection include:

501 pages of files collected or created by The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, most often referred to as the Warren Commission, dating from November 1963 to September 1964, covering Tippit. Includes documents from the FBI, Secret Service, and the Dallas Police Department.

The material focuses on the activity of Lee Harvey Oswald before and after the shooting of J.D. Tippit, testimony of witnesses of the killing of Tippit, and the investigation of whether Tippit knew Jack Ruby.

Other material includes:

Transcript of Officer Tippit’s last radio transmission.

William W. Scoggins, Domingo Benavides, Ted Callaway, Barbara Jeannette Davis, Virginia Ruth Davis and Helen Louise Markham, witnesses to the shooting of Tippit, Warren Commission Vertical Files including documents from the FBI, Secret Service, and Dallas Police Department.

Autopsy Report on Officer J. D. Tippit, by Earl F. Rose.

42 pages, mostly FBI Files, released by the National Archives and Records Administration’s JFK Assassination Records Review Board. The files, released in 2017, mostly cover statements by informants and others that were contradictory to conclusions reached by the Warren Commission about issues related to Tippit.

J.D. Tippit’s Dallas Police Department Personnel Record. Records including applications, salary cards, and notices of injuries sustained on duty.

Dallas Police Dept. Complaints and Commendations File for J. D. Tippit