Did Captain Westbrook Watch Tippit's Murder?

[Jim Hargrove]

There's problems with this. The original bullet casings found at the scene were swapped if you examine the evidence. If it were as simple as Lee shooting Tippit in order to set-up Harvey they would have just left the casings as they were.

That's a good point. We often refer to the "Tippit murder weapon" and only once point out that this description is not certain. But can you tell me what evidence proves the casings were switched?

Here's what Garrison said:

Playboy: How do you explain the fact that the Warren Commission concluded that the bullets in Officer Tippit's body had all been fired from "the revolver in the possession of Oswald at the time of his arrest, to the exclusion of all other weapons"?

Garrison: The Warren Commission's conclusion was made in spite of the evidence and not because of it. To determine if Oswald's gun had fired the bullets, it was necessary to call in a ballistics expert who would be able to tell if the lines and grooves on the bullets had a relation to the barrel of the revolver. The Commission called as its witness FBI ballistics expert Cortlandt Cunningham, and he testified, after an examination of the bullets taken from Tippit's body, that it was impossible to determine whether or not these bullets had been fired from Oswald's gun.

Yet, on the basis of this expert testimony, the Warren Commission concluded with a straight face that the bullets were fired not only from Oswald's gun but "to the exclusion of all other weapons." They simply chose to ignore the fact that revolvers don't eject cartridges and that the cartridges left so conveniently on the street didn't match the bullets in Tippit's body.

John points out the following on the website:

WAS TIPPIT SHOT WITH A .38 REVOLVER OR A SEMI-AUTOMATIC PISTOL?

• After talking with witness Ted Callaway Patrolman H.W. Summers reported that he had an "eyeball witness to the getaway man." The suspect was described as having black wavy hair, wearing an Eisenhower jacket of light color, with dark trousers and a white shirt. He was "apparently armed with a .32, dark finish, automatic pistol," which he had in his right hand. But if an automatic pistol was used to kill Tippit, three of the spent shell casings would have been ejected at the point where Oswald began shooting Tippit and probably landed on 10th St. (near the passenger side of Tippit's squad car). After Oswald shot Tippit in the head, at point blank range, the last shell casing would have been ejected onto the pavement on 10th St., which it was not. Barbara and Virginia Davis watched Oswald as he crossed in front of their house and crossed their lawn, using his right hand to shake shells from an open revolver into his left hand. Two shell casings were recovered near a bush in the Davis' side yard on 10th St., 50-60 ft. from the front of Tippit's squad car.
  
  

If you can point us to strong evidence that the casings from 10th & Patton were somehow switched, I'll pass this on to John right away. The new material up on the website needs this kind of scrutiny. Thanks for your interest.