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  » Volume XV
Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. XV - Page 118« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Charles Batchelor)

Mr. Hubert.
That is to say, the Harwood Street side?
Chief BATCHELOR. That's right Next to the Harwood Street side i,t had about a foot of space, and next to the east wall, the other side, it had about 2 feet of space, and we put one man in the space between the west wall and the truck, and two men between the east wall and the truck and completely blocked the area.
Mr. Hubert.
Do you know who those men were?
Chief BATCHELOR. The body of the truck was actually inside the building on the ramp, and the engine and the front wheels were setting out on the level portion of the sidewalk.
Mr. Hubert.
Do you know who the three men were that blocked the sides?
Chief BATCHELOR. No; I don't recall who.
Mr. Hubert.
Did you actually see them being placed in position?
Chief BATCHELOR. I was standing at the foot of the ramp and saw them standing there. They were put there at my direction, but I didn't personally direct these particular officers. I told the supervisor to put the men there. I don't remember who that was either, but they were there.
Mr. Hubert.
And their orders were to remain there?
Chief BATCHELOR. They remained there.
Mr. Hubert.
Did you see them there at a later time?
Chief BATCHELOR. Yes, sir; they were there when I started to run up the ramp and close the back door at the time they brought Oswald out.
Mr. Hubert.
The men were still there?
Chief BATCHELOR. They were still there.
Mr. Hubert.
But you don't recall their names now?
Chief BATCHELOR. No, sir; I don't.
Mr. Hubert.
But it was the same men, the one man guarding the 1-foot space on the Harwood Street side, and the other two guarding the 2-foot space on the other side were there right after the truck hacked in and were still there just before Oswald was shot, and so far as you know, they did not move?
Chief BATCHELOR. Yes.
Mr. Hubert.
They were under orders to stay there?
Chief BATCHELOR. Yes; I didn't give them their orders. They were placed there, and they were there, so I assumed that they knew to stay there.
Mr. Hubert.
What did you do after you left the truck, do you recall?
Chief BATCHELOR. Left the truck?
Mr. Hubert.
The armored car.
Chief BATCHELOR. I was standing in the basement after I left the truck, and went down to the foot of the ramp. There was a time that Chief Stevenson came down and whispered to me that they had a change of plans and that they were going to use the truck as a decoy, and that Oswald was to be taken in an automobile with detectives.
Mr. Hubert.
You did not go back up to the third floor then between the time?
Chief BATCHELOR. Not after that truck got to the basement.
Mr. Hubert.
Did you leave the basement area at all after the truck backed in?
Chief BATCHELOR. No, sir; I don't recall that I did.
Mr. Hubert.
Where were you then, just around in there?
Chief BATCHELOR. Around in there.
Mr. Hubert.
And Stevenson told you about the change after you had left the truck. About how much time, roughly, before the shooting?
Chief BATCHELOR. Oh, just a very short time. From the time that he told me that they had changed their plans and the time the shooting happened couldn't have been over 10 or 15 minutes at the most.
After he told me, Lieutenant Pierce and Sergeant Putnam got a squad car and took it out the Main Street ramp to get around the city hall.
Mr. Hubert.
Was that movement part of the original movement?
Chief BATCHELOR. No, sir; that was part of the changed plan.
Mr. Hubert.
Did Stevenson tell you about that too then?
Chief BATCHELOR. No; he didn't actually tell me about that. I saw him pulling out. I believe at that time he told me what they were doing, and then immediately after they took their car out. Two homicide detectives got two detective cars and started lining them up to go behind this truck, and one of them got in
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