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Jim Leavelle
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Jim Leavelle
James Robert Leavelle (August 23, 1920 – August 29, 2019) was a Dallas Police Department homicide detective who, on November 24, 1963, was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was fatally shot by Jack Ruby. Leavelle prominently appeared in films and photographs of the murder, including one that won a Pulitzer Prize—taken just as Ruby shot Oswald.
James Robert Leavelle was born on August 23, 1920, in Red River County, Texas. In 1937, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. Following his high school graduation, in 1939, Leavelle enlisted into the United States Navy. He briefly served on the destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412) as she did plane-guard duty with the carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6). In the spring of 1941, Leavelle reported to the destroyer tender USS Whitney (AD-4) as a storekeeper.
During the attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, Leavelle was on deck aboard the USS Whitney. When Ford Island was struck, Leavelle hurried to his battle station. He recalled several decades later, "We were surprised, of course, and awed by the attack and watching the carnage that was taking place."
In April 1942, the Whitney left Pearl Harbor and headed for the South Pacific Ocean to support operations there. One day, while the ship was caught in a storm, Leavelle was descending a ladder when a large wave knocked him down the deck. The impact seriously damaged his knees, and he was evacuated to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital near Oakland, California. In the hospital, he met nurse Taimi Sanelma Trast, his future wife. Around the same time, Leavelle left on a medical discharge to take a civilian supply job with the Army Air Force in Southern California.
After World War II ended, Leavelle worked as an auditor for the Veterans Administration until 1950. In April 1950, Leavelle joined the Dallas Police Department as a homicide detective and retired in April 1975.
On the morning of November 22, 1963, Leavelle and another patrolman arrested a suspect for armed robbery in North Dallas. They transported the suspect to the city jail and when they reached the third floor, Leavelle had learned that U.S. President John F. Kennedy had been shot. Leavelle arrived at the Texas School Book Depository, where other detectives were investigating the crime scene. He then arrived at the crime scene in Oak Cliff, where Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit had been shot.
Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested at the Texas Theatre for Tippit's murder. Elsewhere, Leavelle instructed the dispatcher to have Oswald taken to his office for interrogation. Oswald was brought to the Dallas Police Headquarters, where Leavelle told Tippit murder witnesses Ted Callaway and Sam Guinyard while they were waiting to view Oswald in a line-up: "We want to be sure, we want to try to wrap him up real tight on killing this officer. We think he is the same one that shot the President. But if we can wrap him up tight on killing this officer, we have got him."
After Oswald had been identified, Leavelle was the first to interrogate him. Leavelle asked Oswald if he had shot Tippit, to which Oswald replied, "I didn't shoot anybody." Before Leavelle could continue his line of questioning, J. W. Fritz, the captain of the Dallas Police Homicide and Robbery Bureau, entered the interrogation room and identified Oswald was the prime suspect for the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Leavelle stated, "They took him to Capt. Fritz's office ... so I never did any more questioning of him."
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Jim Leavelle
James Robert Leavelle (August 23, 1920 – August 29, 2019) was a Dallas Police Department homicide detective who, on November 24, 1963, was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was fatally shot by Jack Ruby. Leavelle prominently appeared in films and photographs of the murder, including one that won a Pulitzer Prize—taken just as Ruby shot Oswald.
James Robert Leavelle was born on August 23, 1920, in Red River County, Texas. In 1937, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. Following his high school graduation, in 1939, Leavelle enlisted into the United States Navy. He briefly served on the destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412) as she did plane-guard duty with the carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6). In the spring of 1941, Leavelle reported to the destroyer tender USS Whitney (AD-4) as a storekeeper.
During the attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, Leavelle was on deck aboard the USS Whitney. When Ford Island was struck, Leavelle hurried to his battle station. He recalled several decades later, "We were surprised, of course, and awed by the attack and watching the carnage that was taking place."
In April 1942, the Whitney left Pearl Harbor and headed for the South Pacific Ocean to support operations there. One day, while the ship was caught in a storm, Leavelle was descending a ladder when a large wave knocked him down the deck. The impact seriously damaged his knees, and he was evacuated to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital near Oakland, California. In the hospital, he met nurse Taimi Sanelma Trast, his future wife. Around the same time, Leavelle left on a medical discharge to take a civilian supply job with the Army Air Force in Southern California.
After World War II ended, Leavelle worked as an auditor for the Veterans Administration until 1950. In April 1950, Leavelle joined the Dallas Police Department as a homicide detective and retired in April 1975.
On the morning of November 22, 1963, Leavelle and another patrolman arrested a suspect for armed robbery in North Dallas. They transported the suspect to the city jail and when they reached the third floor, Leavelle had learned that U.S. President John F. Kennedy had been shot. Leavelle arrived at the Texas School Book Depository, where other detectives were investigating the crime scene. He then arrived at the crime scene in Oak Cliff, where Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit had been shot.
Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested at the Texas Theatre for Tippit's murder. Elsewhere, Leavelle instructed the dispatcher to have Oswald taken to his office for interrogation. Oswald was brought to the Dallas Police Headquarters, where Leavelle told Tippit murder witnesses Ted Callaway and Sam Guinyard while they were waiting to view Oswald in a line-up: "We want to be sure, we want to try to wrap him up real tight on killing this officer. We think he is the same one that shot the President. But if we can wrap him up tight on killing this officer, we have got him."
After Oswald had been identified, Leavelle was the first to interrogate him. Leavelle asked Oswald if he had shot Tippit, to which Oswald replied, "I didn't shoot anybody." Before Leavelle could continue his line of questioning, J. W. Fritz, the captain of the Dallas Police Homicide and Robbery Bureau, entered the interrogation room and identified Oswald was the prime suspect for the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Leavelle stated, "They took him to Capt. Fritz's office ... so I never did any more questioning of him."
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