Mr. McKINZIE. Metal.
Mr. HUBERT. Metal across metal, sort of like an accordion.
Mr. McKINZIE. That’s right.
Mr. HUBERT. And it locks?
Mr. McKINZIE. They lock that after closing time. Stay locked until
6:30, 7 the next morning.
Mr. HUBERT. And on weekends?
Mr. McKINZIE. No; on weekends it would be locked permanently.
Mr. HUBERT. From 6:30 Friday, in the afternoon until about 7 o’clock
Monday morning?
Mr. McKINZIE. Right.
Mr. HUBERT. And that is true of the gates, small gates on the second
and third floor, also?
Mr. McKINZIE. First, second and third. That is the only--there is three
of them, three floors, first, second and third.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, is it possible to get into the first floor of the
municipal building from the basement by using a--the staircase, the
fire escape, the fire escape staircase?
Mr. McKINZIE. It is kept locked. They do have a door there.
Mr. HUBERT. There is a double door.
Mr. McKINZIE. No, sir; they have just an ordinary door made like that
one there that you go up the stair steps from the basement, but it is
locked. It is--well, it is locked at nights, too.
Mr. HUBERT. It is locked. Which side?
Mr. McKINZIE. From the--it would be locked from the outside.
Mr. HUBERT. From the basement side?
Mr. McKINZIE. That’s right. You can come out it. You can come down and
come out it, but you can’t go in it from the basement without a key.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, if a person was on the first floor, could he get to
the basement by using the fire escape stairs?
Mr. McKINZIE. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, the fire escape staircase doors on the
first floor of the municipal building are not locked?
Mr. McKINZIE. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. So, you can get into that fire escape staircase, as it
were, and go one flight down and----
Mr. McKINZIE. That’s right.
Mr. HUBERT. And you can open the door down there, that is not locked?
Mr. McKINZIE. It is locked, but you can open it from the inside.
Mr. HUBERT. Okay, open from the staircase side, so, if you got into the
staircase, you could get into the basement, is that right?
Mr. McKINZIE. Yes, sir; that’s right.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, on the 24th, which was on a Sunday, the Sunday after
President Kennedy was killed, were you on duty that day?
Mr. McKINZIE. Yes, sir; I was.
Mr. HUBERT. What time did you come on duty?
Mr. McKINZIE. 7 o’clock, Sunday morning.
Mr. HUBERT. What time did you leave?
Mr. McKINZIE. 3 in the afternoon.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, what was your particular duty that day?
Mr. McKINZIE. I was running the freight elevator.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you operate the elevator all day?
Mr. McKINZIE. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you leave it at any time?
Mr. McKINZIE. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. When?
Mr. McKINZIE. Around 10 o’clock is when I got orders to carry it to the
first floor and cut it off and not bring any passengers down to the
basement until I got further permission from the police department, and
I was off of it then, I was still on the first floor, I just wasn’t
operating it.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you leave the elevator itself?
Mr. McKINZIE. Sir?
Mr. HUBERT. Did you leave the elevator itself and walk some place else?
Mr. McKINZIE. Just down the hallway.
Mr. HUBERT. Were the doors of the elevator open then?
Mr. McKINZIE. It was open, but it was cut off. I had it automatic, and
I had it cut off with the key. Couldn’t nobody----
Mr. HUBERT. Now, that really has two doors in it, doesn’t it?
Mr. McKINZIE. Back and front.
Mr. HUBERT. That is the front one, I suppose, you designate as the one
that opens up into the municipal building?
Mr. McKINZIE. That’s right.
Mr. HUBERT. And the back one is the one that opens up into a little
hallway that leads to an alleyway?
Mr. McKINZIE. Yes, sir; that’s right.
Mr. HUBERT. Does that back door of the elevator also open on other
floors?
Mr. McKINZIE. On the second floor of the building.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, when you left the elevator what was the position of
both doors?
Mr. McKINZIE. Front was open facing the municipal building. The back
was closed.
Mr. HUBERT. It never was open at all?
Mr. McKINZIE. No, sir; never was open.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you recall whether the back of the elevator was open any
time during the morning of November 24th, until the shooting?
Mr. McKINZIE. I am sure that I wouldn’t be making no mistake if I said
it was open several times, because we had some porters down there
working that brings trash from the jail department, and I always let
them out that door, and they go out the back, and that is where they
keep all their trash and the garbage and so forth, and I imagine about
8 or 8:30, that they were open, because that is about the time they
carries the trash and stuff out.