Mr. ARNETT. That's right.
Mr. GRIFFIN. And said, "Call Lieutenant Merrell"?
Mr. ARNETT. That's right.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Then you went and made a telephone call?
Mr. ARNETT. I believe I went in Chief Curry's--not in his office, now,
but into the room where all the secretaries and everything are, and
used the telephone. I am almost certain I did.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did you call Merrell some place outside of the building
or----
Mr. ARNETT. He was at home.
Mr. GRIFFIN. He was at home. Is he a regular officer?
Mr. ARNETT. He is a reserve lieutenant.
Mr. GRIFFIN. He is a reserve lieutenant?
Mr. ARNETT. He is my assistant.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Then Merrell told you that you would have to have some men?
Mr. ARNETT. That they wanted some men, yes, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. So somebody apparently had called Merrell to tell him
that, is that right?
Mr. ARNETT. Captain Solomon, I believe.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Captain Solomon had called Merrell. Now, did you attempt
to locate some reserves that night?
Mr. ARNETT. Yes, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. And did you attempt to locate reserves that were already
in the police department building?
Mr. ARNETT. I called Lieutenant McCoy, who was on duty, riding in a
squad car, put out a call for him to call me at the office, and he did,
and I gave him those instructions, to call some of his men the next
morning to be there.
Mr. GRIFFIN. And what time did you tell Lieutenant McCoy that the men
should be there?
Mr. ARNETT. Nine o'clock.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, at this point did you have any understanding as to
generally when Oswald would be moved; did you have any idea generally
when he would be moved?
Mr. ARNETT. Chief Curry told the newsmen that if they were back by 10
o'clock they would be plenty early.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did you hear Chief Curry tell them that?
Mr. ARNETT. Yes, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Other than what you heard Chief Curry say, did you receive
any other information?
Mr. ARNETT. Of what time it would be?
Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes.
Mr. ARNETT. No, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, did you have your conversations with Lieutenant
Merrell and Lieutenant McCoy before or after Chief Curry made the
announcement to the press?
Mr. ARNETT. I would say it was probably a few minutes before I heard
him say that. I could be wrong about it. I am trying to, you know,
think whether it was or wasn't, but I am not certain about it.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, the call that you issued to Lieutenant McCoy, would
that have gone through the dispatcher's office?
Mr. ARNETT. For him to call me would--yes.
Mr. GRIFFIN. And they would have made a record of that, isn't that
right?
Mr. ARNETT. It would have been recorded, but our conversation wouldn't
have been.
Mr. GRIFFIN. If we were to look at that record, would that be the most
accurate reflection of the approximate time that you had information
concerning the transfer of Oswald; in other words, is that the most
accurate----
Mr. ARNETT. It would be recorded all right.
Mr. GRIFFIN. My question is, we want to try to find out just exactly
how soon people would have known that something was going to happen.
Now, is that record, that would be in the dispatcher's office the most
accurate or earliest record that would have been made of anything you
did in connection with the information you received about the move,
that Oswald was going to be moved the next day?
Mr. ARNETT. Well, it would show--you would have to first check and see
what squad McCoy was riding, to get the number.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes.
Mr. ARNETT. You see?
Mr. GRIFFIN. It wouldn't go out to McCoy specifically?
Mr. ARNETT. No; it would go to the squad he was riding with. His name
wouldn't have been on there.
Mr. GRIFFIN. But now, would the dispatcher's statement over the radio,
would that say number such-and-such call number such-and-such, or would
it say number such-and-such call Captain Arnett?
Mr. ARNETT. No; I believe it would have said call the office. I don't
believe our names would have been mentioned on the air.
Mr. GRIFFIN. All right. Now, would there be a record of some kind that
we could use to find out what number designated Lieutenant McCoy?
Mr. ARNETT. Well, there would be a work sheet, assignment sheet, of
what squad he was riding in that night, the number of it. For instance,
we will just say 243 or 242 or--I don't know what number it was now,
but I am just saying those numbers, that it's possible he could have
been in.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Well now, do you know how long records of that sort are
retained by the police department?
Mr. ARNETT. I suppose they are kept for a long time.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, what time was it that you arrived at the Police and
Courts Building the next day?
Mr. ARNETT. Nine o'clock a.m.
Mr. GRIFFIN. All right. How many men would you estimate that you
contacted about this between the time that you got the word from
Lieutenant Merrell and the time you arrived at 9 o'clock?
Mr. ARNETT. If I remember right, I called Lieutenant Merrell--I mean
Lieutenant McCoy, and I saw Lieutenant Nicholson and told him to call
some of his men. If I remember right, though, those are the only two
people I contacted on it.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, would Lieutenant Merrell have had occasion to contact
any other officers, to give instructions to men?
Mr. ARNETT. He could have called some of the sergeants and told them.
Mr. GRIFFIN. I see. Would there have been any other captains who would
have given instructions similar to ones you gave?
Mr. ARNETT. Well, there are three more captains, but so far as I know
there wasn't any contacted, unless it was Captain Crump and I didn't
contact him.
Mr. GRIFFIN. All right. How many men did you attempt to get in that
next morning?
Mr. ARNETT. I told them to have 8 or 9 to 10 men.
Mr. GRIFFIN. I see. Each; each lieutenant?
Mr. ARNETT. No; each one just get two or three men. We had 18.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Had 18 all together?
Mr. ARNETT. Uh, huh.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, do you remember where you parked your car before you
came in the building on Sunday morning?
Mr. ARNETT. I either put it in the parking station west of the city
hall on Commerce Street or I parked it on the side street of Commerce.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Do you remember entering the building?
Mr. ARNETT. Do I remember entering the building?
Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes.
Mr. ARNETT. Yes, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Do you remember what entrance you came through?
Mr. ARNETT. Yes, sir. Down in the basement, from Commerce Street.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, as you walked down that Commerce Street entrance, at
that time were there any TV cables strung through there?
Mr. ARNETT. The cameras were set up on the Commerce side, out there,
and I do believe that there were cables running through the door.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, there is one door there that enters into the hallway
that runs to the records room, as you get down the bottom of the steps
from Commerce Street, you open up the door and you can go down a
hallway toward the records room?
Mr. ARNETT. Down that way [indicating].
Mr. GRIFFIN. Going north?
Mr. ARNETT. Uh, huh.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, there are also in there, at the bottom of those steps
from the street, two other doors; do you recall that there are two
other doors there?
Mr. ARNETT. They would be on Harwood Street, then?
Mr. GRIFFIN. No.
Mr. ARNETT. You mean there are two more doors on Commerce Street?
Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes. One of them leads to the engine room. Are you
familiar with that door?
Mr. ARNETT. No, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Another one leads into the subbasement. Are you familiar
with that door?
Mr. ARNETT. Now, that's the one I am talking about I came in.
Mr. GRIFFIN. You went down into the subbasement?
Mr. ARNETT. See here, this is Commerce Street, and you walk down a
flight of steps, and there is a door, and you are going right towards
the records building.
Mr. GRIFFIN. All right. Now, there is a subbasement to that building?
Mr. ARNETT. No; I misunderstand what you are talking about.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Are you familiar with the subbasement in the--where the
police officers' locker room is?
Mr. ARNETT. Yes. Oh, yes. If that's what you are talking about.
Mr. GRIFFIN. All right. Were you aware of the fact that there was a
door that led up from the subbasement right up under the stairs, on the
Commerce Street side?
Mr. ARNETT. I don't know whether I understand what you mean or not.