Captain FRAZIER. Oh, I will waive it.
Mr. HUBERT. You do not wish to persist in your right to have the 3-day
notice?
Captain FRAZIER. No.
Mr. HUBERT. Then I'll ask you to stand, sir, and raise your right hand
to be sworn. Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Captain FRAZIER. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Will you state your full name, please?
Mr. FRAZIER. William Bennett Frazier.
Mr. HUBERT. Your age?
Mr. FRAZIER. Forty-three.
Mr. HUBERT. Where do you live, sir?
Mr. FRAZIER. 2205 Newcastle, Garland, Tex.
Mr. HUBERT. What is your occupation?
Mr. FRAZIER. Police officer.
Mr. HUBERT. How long have you been on the police department of Dallas?
Mr. FRAZIER. For 17-1/2 years.
Mr. HUBERT. You have the rank of captain?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. What particular function or duties are you assigned to in
the department, sir?
Mr. FRAZIER. I am in charge of the radio patrol platoon.
Mr. HUBERT. Who is your immediate superior?
Mr. FRAZIER. Chief N. T. Fisher.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you have the same rank and the same duties during the
period November 22 to 24, 1963?
Mr. FRAZIER. I did, yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, I understand that you were on duty on the morning of
the 24th of November, is that correct, sir?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. What time did you come on duty? Do you know?
Mr. FRAZIER. At 11 p.m., on the 23d.
Mr. HUBERT. I think that is what they call the first shift?
Mr. FRAZIER. First platoon.
Mr. HUBERT. First platoon, rather, and that goes until roughly 7 in the
morning?
Mr. FRAZIER. Around 7; yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Had you been on duty the night before, that is, on first
platoon. That would have been----
Mr. FRAZIER. What day would it have been, sir?
Mr. HUBERT. Well, it would have been the 23d.
Mr. FRAZIER. I mean, what day of the week.
Mr. HUBERT. Oh, the day before would have been Saturday.
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, sir; I was on duty at the time. That would have been
the first platoon. Yes, sir; I was on duty at the time.
Mr. HUBERT. Was your office, in fact, in the building?
Mr. FRAZIER. On the second floor.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you have anything to do at all with the interrogation,
or the security of Oswald?
Mr. FRAZIER. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, on the 24th of November, about in the middle of the
shift there, about 3 or 3:30 or 3:45 that morning, I understand you
received a telephone call from an FBI agent, is that correct?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, sir; Mr. Newsom, I believe his name is.
Mr. HUBERT. Can you tell me how it came to you? How did the call come
to you?
Mr. FRAZIER. Mr. Newsom called me and said he had received a threat
from some man to the effect that a group of men, I believe he
indicated they had 100 or 200, I don't recall the exact number, were
going to attempt to kill Oswald that day sometime. That he didn't want
the FBI, Dallas Police Department or the sheriff's office injured in
any way. That was the reason for the call. So, Mr. Newsom called me and
related that story to me.
Mr. HUBERT. Were you in charge of the police department at the time?
Mr. FRAZIER. I was in charge of the patrol section.
Mr. HUBERT. Patrol section?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. What other senior officers were on duty?
Mr. FRAZIER. I guess I was the senior on any division at that morning;
yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. As I understand it, Chief Curry was not there, Chief
Batchelor was not there?
Mr. FRAZIER. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Stevenson was not there?
Mr. FRAZIER. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Who is your immediate superior?
Mr. FRAZIER. Fisher. He was not there.
Mr. HUBERT. You, in fact, were the ranking officer?
Mr. FRAZIER. On duty at that time; yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Were you aware of that? I mean, are you made aware of that?
Mr. FRAZIER. Oh, yes, sir; yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. How is it done?
Mr. FRAZIER. Well, just the fact that the officers under--who rank
under you are there, and there is nobody of equal rank or higher
present in the entire police department, it reverts to you.
Mr. HUBERT. The highest in rank is in charge of the whole operation?
Mr. FRAZIER. It is.
Mr. HUBERT. So, if someone had asked for who was in--if Newsom had
asked to speak to the top man in charge, you were that man, that day?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Had you heard any of that news of that sort from another
source?
Mr. FRAZIER. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you know a man by the name of Deputy Cox, or Coy in the
sheriff's----
Mr. FRAZIER. I talked to that man later on in the morning after Mr.
Newsom called me. But I don't know the name, whether it was Coy, or
Cox, but he indicated that Sheriff Decker wanted to talk to Chief Curry
in regards to moving Oswald, so, I, in turn then attempted to contact
Chief Curry by telephone and his line was busy.
Mr. HUBERT. That was about what time?
Mr. FRAZIER. I don't know. 5:45, 6 o'clock, somewhere along there. Then
I tried for some 10 or 15 minutes to get his line, and it was busy, so,
I asked the operator to check into it. She came back and said the line
was out of order, so, I in turn, was preparing to send a squad by the
chief's home and tell him of the information and that Decker wanted
him to call him and Captain Talbert relieved me around 6 or 6:15. I
give him the information and he said he sent a squad later and told the
chief about it.
Mr. HUBERT. I think earlier you had called Captain Fritz, hadn't you?
Mr. FRAZIER. Yes, I called Captain Fritz once or twice in an effort to
see if they were handling it or if the chief was handling it, or if
homicide--Captain Fritz was handling it. Since he is the captain in
charge of that particular bureau, so, naturally I called him first.
Mr. HUBERT. That was when you got the message from Newsom?
Mr. FRAZIER. A little while later; yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. What did he say about it?
Mr. FRAZIER. He said I should talk to Chief Curry, that he was handling
the transfer.