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. HUBERT. Well, you were standing at the window looking down, as I
understand it, on the scene on Commerce Street, waiting actually to see
the procession go out. But this officer told you this at the entrance
to Batchelor’s office?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes. I was not at the window at that time.
Mr. HUBERT. You had moved away?
Mr. SORRELS. We had walked away from the window, I think, just killing
time, I guess. And we were actually in the--outside of Batchelor’s
office, but in that area there.
Mr. HUBERT. All right. What did you do?
Mr. SORRELS. I immediately rushed down to the basement.
Mr. HUBERT. How did you go--by what route?
Mr. SORRELS. I grabbed an elevator, as I recall it.
Mr. HUBERT. Public elevator or the jail elevator?
Mr. SORRELS. No; a public elevator--and got down to the basement
floor, and I headed right into the jailer’s office. And at that time
Oswald was laying on the floor and someone was giving him artificial
respiration.
Mr. HUBERT. By mechanical means?
Mr. SORRELS. No; by hand. I recall seeing his stomach was uncovered,
his shirt was pulled up like that, and the man apparently was over him
giving him artificial respiration by his hands.
I went to a telephone, which is in the jail office there, up against
the wall, and called my headquarters office and told Deputy Chief
Paterni that Oswald had been shot by a man named Jack Rubin--that is
how I understood it at that time--who operated a nightclub, and that
was all the information I had at that time.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, Mr. Paterni was in Washington?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. That was a long-distance call?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you know what time the call was made, did you use a
direct line?
Mr. SORRELS. No; I called it on the security phone, which we use in
connection with matters pertaining to the protection of prisoners. In
other words, the Signal Corps--
(Witness provided telephone number.)
Mr. HUBERT. And you can use that on any telephone?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Is that a security matter?
Mr. SORRELS. I beg your pardon?
Mr. HUBERT. Is that a security matter, that telephone number?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes--Signal Corps.
Mr. HUBERT. I think the record should show that the witness stated the
number that was called, but that we are not going to have it as a part
of the record because it is a security matter.
You, Mr. Reporter, will delete the number from the transcript.
What I was trying to get at is have you ascertained at what time that
call was made?
Mr. SORRELS. No; I have not.
Mr. HUBERT. Would it be possible to do so?
Mr. SORRELS. I could not answer that question, because I do not know
what records are kept.
Mr. HUBERT. Does it go as a long-distance call?
Mr. SORRELS. A long-distance call collect; yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Then the telephone company probably would have a record of
it?
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