Warren Commission (07 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (07 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. WESTBROOK. Well, the next thing, of course, then I started running
and there was probably six or seven officers that just converged on
him just like that. Barrett was, I think, directly behind me in the
aisle--he got there at the same time I did.
I yelled about two or three times, "Has somebody got his gun," and
finally some officer--I don't know which one it was--says, "Yes; I have
the gun."
Mr. BALL. Were you close enough to hear anything said by either
McDonald or anyone else?
Mr. WESTBROOK. I heard Oswald say something about police
brutality--Oswald yelled something about police brutality.
Mr. BALL. When McDonald first approached the man in the seats did you
hear McDonald say anything?
Mr. WESTBROOK. I probably couldn't have heard this, Mr. Ball, from
where I was.
Mr. BALL. Did you hear the man say anything?
Mr. WESTBROOK. The word "brutality" or "police brutality" and I think
that was just all he yelled--was said while I was in the aisle walking
down to the group. There was about six or seven ahold of him at that
time.
Mr. BALL. Were the handcuffs on him at the time you arrived?
Mr. WESTBROOK. They were putting the handcuffs on him--they had one
handcuff on one hand and they were trying to find the other one, and
they were having difficulty in locating it because there were so many
hands there.
Mr. BALL. How many officers were there?
Mr. WESTBROOK. In fact--that was one of the only humorous things about
the whole thing--somebody did get ahold of the wrong arm and they were
twisting it behind Oswald's back and somebody yelled--I remember that,
"My God, you got mine." I think it was just an arm that come up out of
the crowd that somebody grabbed.
Mr. BALL. Did you see any police officer strike Oswald?
Mr. WESTBROOK. No; I did not.
Mr. BALL. You didn't?
Mr. WESTBROOK. No, I didn't.
Mr. BALL. We had a witness here Thursday, a patron of the theatre at
the time, who said that at the time the officers were struggling with
Oswald he saw another officer who had a shotgun take the shotgun and
grab it by the muzzle and strike Oswald in the back with the butt of
the shotgun; did you see that?
Mr. WESTBROOK. No, sir; I didn't see that. It could have happened
without me seeing it because half of my view was blocked from the
struggle.
Mr. BALL. Did anybody ever tell you that story before?
Mr. WESTBROOK. That's the first time I've heard that.
Mr. BALL. That's the first time you have ever heard it?
Mr. WESTBROOK. That's the first time I have ever heard any shotgun was
in play.
Mr. BALL. Did any of the men who were approaching Oswald or who
approached Oswald have a gun in their hand?
Mr. WESTBROOK. I didn't see a gun, Mr. Ball; no, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you see any men with shotguns in the theatre?
Mr. WESTBROOK. In the theatre--I didn't.
Mr. BALL. Did you see any at any other time?
Mr. WESTBROOK. Yes, sir; I had one myself at the library.
Mr. BALL. But did you enter the theatre with a gun?
Mr. WESTBROOK. Oh, no.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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