The testimony of J. M. Poe was taken at 10:30 a.m., on April 9, 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. Would you stand and be sworn, please.
Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give before this
Commission shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?
Mr. POE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. State your name.
Mr. POE. J. M. Poe [spelling]. P-o-e.
Mr. BALL. And your address?
Mr. POE. 1716 Cascade Street.
Mr. BALL. And your occupation?
Mr. POE. Police officer, city of Dallas.
Mr. BALL. All right, what is your rank in the department?
Mr. POE. Patrolman.
Mr. BALL. How long have you been in the department?
Mr. POE. Nine years and one month.
Mr. BALL. And where were you born?
Mr. POE. Winnsboro, Tex.
Mr. BALL. Where did you go to school?
Mr. POE. Winnsboro, Stephensville, and Edgewood.
Mr. BALL. How far through school did you go?
Mr. POE. Graduated from high school.
Mr. BALL. Then what did you do?
Mr. POE. Then went into the Navy.
Mr. BALL. How long did you stay there?
Mr. POE. Three years.
Mr. BALL. Then what did you do?
Mr. POE. I was what we called a "snipe," diesel mechanic.
Mr. BALL. How long did you do that work?
Mr. POE. About 2 years.
Mr. BALL. Then what did you do?
Mr. POE. I was in construction work. I was the carpenter when I got out
of the Service.
Mr. BALL. You worked as a "snipe," in the Service, is that right?
Mr. POE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Then you got out of the Service and worked as a construction
worker?
Mr. POE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And then what did you do?
Mr. POE. I joined the police force.
Mr. BALL. What kind of work do you do on the police force?
Mr. POE. Patrol work.
Mr. BALL. Patrolman?
Mr. POE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. In a car?
Mr. POE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. In a radio car?
Mr. POE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Were you on duty on the 22d of November 1963?
Mr. POE. Yes, sir; I was.
Mr. BALL. What time of day?
Mr. POE. From 7 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon.
Mr. BALL. Were you alone?
Mr. POE. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Who was with you?
Mr. POE. L. E. Jez.
Mr. BALL. [Spelling.] J-a-s-s.
Mr. POE. No; it is J-e-z.
Mr. BALL. What district do you patrol?
Mr. POE. I had two districts to patrol. District 105 and district 106.
Mr. BALL. Where are they located?
Mr. POE. In the western end of the downtown section.
Mr. BALL. You were a downtown patrolman?
Mr. POE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you hear of the assassination of the President over the
radio? The fact that the President had been shot?
Mr. POE. We heard the call come out on the radio. There was a signal
19, which would be a shooting of the President, at Elm and Houston
Streets.
Mr. BALL. What did you do?
Were you told to go some place?
Mr. POE. We reported the scene; yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. To where?
Mr. POE. To Elm and Houston.
Mr. BALL. When--what did you do there?
Mr. POE. We helped cover off the building and control the crowd.
Mr. BALL. Then you went where?
Mr. POE. From there to Oak Cliff, to the scene of the Tippit shooting.
Mr. BALL. How did you happen to go out there?
Mr. POE. I was standing close to the squad car using the squad car as
part of the block to keep the crowd back and had run out of rope, and
heard a citizen, I presume, get on the radio, and--because he didn't
know radio procedure, called and said a police officer was shot out
there. At first give the wrong address, and come back and changed it
to another address, and I believe he left us in the 400 block of East
Ninth, the last time, and we went out there.
Mr. BALL. You went there?
Mr. POE. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And what did you find when you got there?