Warren Commission (13 of 26): Hearings Vol. XIII (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (13 of 26): Hearings Vol. XIII (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. GRAVES. You know, I couldn’t tell you. I--I--actually, the chief
could have been standing in there somewhere and I wouldn’t know
it--because when we were given the final go to get him ready or get his
sweater on him, I didn’t pay any attention to who else was in there or
what happened. They told me to get him ready and walked out with him.
He could have left a few minutes ahead of us; I don’t know, it would be
a guess, because I really don’t know.
Mr. GRIFFIN. All right. Now, what happened when you got to the basement?
Mr. GRAVES. Well, we got down to the basement. We hesitated on the
elevator until Captain Fritz and Lieutenant Swain stepped out. Then we
followed them around the outside exit door into the hallway which leads
to the ramp and then hesitated there a little bit with Oswald so they
could check out there and see that everything was all right, and when
we got the go ahead sign that everything was all right we walked out
with him.
Mr. GRIFFIN. And how many steps did you take before something happened?
Mr. GRAVES. You mean after we walked out in the hallway?
Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes.
Mr. GRAVES. It is approximately 15 feet from where I was to the jail
house door where we came out into the hallway, roughly 15 feet.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did you see Jack Ruby move out of the crowd?
Mr. GRAVES. No; I didn’t see Jack Ruby move out of the crowd.
Mr. GRIFFIN. When was the first time that you noticed Jack Ruby?
Mr. GRAVES. I estimated before I saw the film it was a split second
before he pulled that trigger and actually, he was taking a step and
coming down like so [indicating]. I caught him out of the corner of my
eye and I thought that I started reaching for him at that moment, which
the film indicates that I did, which happened quickly, as you know.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes.
Mr. GRAVES. Just a matter of simultaneous movement. You just move when
you see something like that.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did you actually see the gun before you heard it--heard
the shots fired?
Mr. GRAVES. Yes; in fact, that is the first thing I saw coming that
way, and I just started after it, I guess, automatically, nothing else
to do, that I could see.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did you see how the newsmen were spread out as you walked
out of that hallway?
Mr. GRAVES. I saw how they weren’t spread out. I was under the
impression there wouldn’t be any news media inside that rampway, that
they would be behind that area over there, but they were in the way.
Mr. GRIFFIN. How did you get that impression?
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