The testimony of Warren H. Burroughs was taken at 9:15 a.m., on April
8, 1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building,
Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. Joseph A. Ball, assistant
counsel of the President's Commission.
Mr. BALL. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you give before the
Commission will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. State your name for the record, please.
Mr. BURROUGHS. Warren H. Burroughs.
Mr. BALL. Where do you live, Mr. Burroughs?
Mr. BURROUGHS. 407 Montreal.
Mr. BALL. Where were you born?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Dallas.
Mr. BALL. Where did you go to school?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Well, I'm going to private school 2 days a week. I
stopped going to public school in the ninth grade.
Mr. BALL. You quit in the ninth grade?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I stopped in the ninth grade, but I'm going to private
school 2 days a week over in Highland Park.
Mr. BALL. You are now?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes; I am now.
Mr. BALL. How old are you?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Twenty-two.
Mr. BALL. What have you been doing most of your life--what kind of work
have you been doing?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I worked at the Texas Theatre and I helped my dad out as
an apprentice, he is an electrician.
Mr. BALL. Were you ever in the Army?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No, sir--they tried to get me, but I couldn't pass--I
passed the physical part, but the mental part--I didn't make enough
points on the score, so the board sent me a card back and classifying
me different.
Mr. BALL. On November 22, 1963, you were working at the Texas Theatre,
were you?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What kind of job did you have?
Mr. BURROUGHS. During the week I worked behind the concession. On
weekends I usher.
Mr. BALL. On weekends you usher?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. During the week?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I am behind the concession.
Mr. BALL. During the afternoon of the week--do you take tickets too?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes--I take tickets every day.
Mr. BALL. You do?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And, run the concession?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. If anybody comes in there without a ticket, what do you do,
run them off?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I make it a point to stop them and ask them to go out
and get a ticket. I just failed to see him when he slipped in.
Mr. BALL. We will get to that in a minute--I want to see what you
usually do if somebody comes in without a ticket.
Mr. BURROUGHS. I stop them and have them go out to the box office and
get an admission ticket.
Mr. BALL. On this day of November 22, 1963, what time did you go to
work?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I went to work at 12.
Mr. BALL. You went to work that day at 12?
Mr. BURROUGHS. That day at 12 o'clock--yes.
Mr. BALL. And you later saw a struggle in the theatre between a man and
some officers, didn't you?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Did you see that man come in the theatre?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No, sir; I didn't.
Mr. BALL. Do you have any idea what you were doing when he came in?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Well, I was--I had a lot of stock candy to count and put
in the candy case for the coming night, and if he had came around in
front of the concession out there, I would have seen him, even though I
was bent down, I would have seen him, but otherwise--I think he sneaked
up the stairs real fast.
Mr. BALL. Up to the balcony?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes, sir--first, I think he was up there.
Mr. BALL. At least there was a stairway there?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes, there was two.
Mr. BALL. Is there a stairway near the entry?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Of the door--yes. Yes, it goes straight--you come
through the door and go straight--you go upstairs to the balcony.
Mr. BALL. Did anybody come in there that day? Up to the time of the
struggle between the man and the police--who didn't have a ticket?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Later on the police came in your place?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. They asked you if you had seen a man come in there without a
ticket?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. What did you tell him?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I said, "I haven't seen him myself. He might have, but
I didn't see him when he came in. He must have sneaked in and run on
upstairs before I saw him."
Mr. BALL. Later on, did somebody point out a man in the theatre to you?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No--I got information that a man--the police were
cruising up and down Jefferson hunting for Oswald, and he ran to a
shoestore and then came out and came on up to the Texas, and the man
came in and told me that a man fitting that description came in the
show and he wanted me to help him find him, and we went and checked the
exit doors, he was up in the balcony, I imagine, and then we went back
out and the police caught him downstairs.
Mr. BALL. You went to check the exit doors?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. With the shoe salesman?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And were the police out at the exit doors?
Mr. BURROUGHS. They came on--somehow they came in--one came in through
the back and the rest of them came in through the front.
Mr. BALL. Did you see them come in through the back when you were back
there?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I saw one of them.
Mr. BALL. The exit doors you are talking about were in the back or in
the front?
Mr. BURROUGHS. They are at the back--they have one main one going out
to the alley and they have one down here by the stage going out to the
parking lot, and the other two are upstairs.
Mr. BALL. Did you see any struggle or fight between this man and any
police officer?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No; not exactly, because I just had one door open and
that was the middle door, and I couldn't see them--that was the main
thing.
Mr. BALL. Where were you?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I was back behind the concession.
Mr. BALL. How do you get from the exit door in the rear of the theatre
to behind the concession?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Well, the concession is right here [indicating] and the
doors are right here, and the theatre is inside, and exit door No. 1 is
straight down this way and another one is straight down this way.
Mr. BALL. Tell me what you did after you went to the exit door with the
shoe salesman; what did you do?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Well, he went down to this door and I stayed at this
door.
Mr. BALL. You mean at the rear of the theatre?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes--he went down to the rear of the theatre, and I
stayed at this door in case he went out one of the exit doors.
Mr. BALL. You stayed there, did you?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I stayed there for about 5 minutes and I came back out
to the concession.
Mr. BALL. Down the main aisle?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Were there police in there at that time?
Mr. BURROUGHS. They were in there checking to see where he was.
Mr. BALL. Was there any struggle going on when you came back from the
exit door to the concession?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No.
Mr. BALL. There was not?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No.
Mr. BALL. Did you hear or see any trouble between this man and the
police?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Well, I heard a struggle from outside, but I really
couldn't tell.
Mr. BALL. What did you hear?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Well, I couldn't hear anything on the inside, but when
they brought him out, he was hollering and raising, "I demand my
rights," and all that.
Mr. BALL. What else did you hear?
Mr. BURROUGHS. That's about all.
Mr. BALL. Tell me what his appearance was as they brought him out?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Well, he didn't seem--he seemed like he was mad at
everybody.
Mr. BALL. He was?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Did he shout in a loud voice?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes; like--"I demand my rights" [witness holding up both
hands above his head.]
Mr. BALL. Anything else?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Well, they carried him out to the car and there was a
mob of people out there--more people than I have ever seen before and
they put him in the car and went off.
Mr. BALL. How many officers were with him? When you saw them take him
from the theatre?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I believe about three or four.
Mr. BALL. Did any of them have ahold of him?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes; they had ahold of him--they were dragging him
out--I mean they had ahold of him--two on each side.
Mr. BALL. Was he walking or were they dragging him?
Mr. BURROUGHS. He was walking, but he was kind of urged on out the door
into the car.
Mr. BALL. Was he handcuffed?
Mr. BURROUGHS. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Were his hands behind him or in front of him?
Mr. BURROUGHS. They were behind him.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever see a police officer strike him?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No.
Mr. BALL. Did you see a police officer with his arm around the neck of
this man, who arrested him?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I don't believe so.
Mr. BALL. Did you ever see a police officer strike this man with the
butt of a shotgun?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Were any of the officers in the theatre armed with shotguns?
Mr. BURROUGHS. No, sir; I don't believe so.
Mr. BALL. I think that's all, Mr. Burroughs, and this will be written
up and you can go down and sign it if you wish, or you can waive your
signature right now. Which do you prefer?
Mr. BURROUGHS. I want to come down and sign it.
Mr. BALL. All right. You will be notified to come down and you can read
it over and sign it. Thank you very much for coming down here.
Mr. BURROUGHS. Thank you. I hope I helped you some.
Mr. BALL. Yes; I hope you did, too.
Mr. BURROUGHS. I'll see you later.
Mr. BALL. All right. Goodby.