Jim Leavelle

James Robert "Jim" Leavelle (August 23, 1920 – August 29, 2019) was a Dallas, Texas homicide detective who was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby.

Early life
Leavelle was born and raised in Red River County, Texas. He served in the United States Navy during World War II, and was a sailor on board the USS Whitney during the December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor bombings. 

Career
He joined the Dallas Police Department in April 1950 and retired in April 1975.

Leavelle later said to author Joseph McBride that to him, the murder of President John F. Kennedy was "no different than a south Dallas nigger killing". This remark reveals that Leavelle was a racist who was not really concerned about who killed President Kennedy.

When Leavelle testified before the Warren Commission, he claimed that the first time he had ever sat in on an interrogation with Oswald was on Sunday morning, November 24, 1963. When Counsel Joseph Ball asked Leavelle if he had ever spoken to Oswald before this interrogation, he stated; "No; I had never talked to him before". Leavelle then stated during his testimony that; "...the only time I had connections with Oswald was this Sunday morning [November 24, 1963]. I never had [the] occasion to talk with him at any time..." 

Leavelle believed that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, and said that in a 2006 discussion, he was told by Oswald's brother Robert that he believes the same thing, "because I knew my brother."

Death
Leavelle died at a hospital on August 29, 2019, at the age of 99 while on a trip to Denver, Colorado from a heart attack while recovering from hip surgery.

References

Category:1920 births
Category:2019 deaths
Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction
Category:Deaths from surgical complications
Category:American police officers
Category:People from Dallas