Mr. WHALEY. That jacket now it might have been clean, but the jacket he
had on looked more the color, you know like a uniform set, but he had
this coat here on over that other jacket, I am sure, sir.
Mr. BALL. This is the blue-gray jacket, heavy blue-gray jacket.
Mr. WHALEY. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Later that day did you--were you called down to the police
department?
Mr. WHALEY. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Were you the next day?
Mr. WHALEY. No, sir; they came and got me, sir, the next day after
I told my superior when I saw in the paper his picture, I told my
superiors that that had been my passenger that day at noon. They called
up the police and they came up and got me.
Mr. BALL. When you saw in the newspaper the picture of the man?
Mr. WHALEY. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. You went to your superior and told him you thought he was
your passenger?
Mr. WHALEY. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did the Dallas police come out to see you?
Mr. WHALEY. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Or FBI agents?
Mr. WHALEY. The Dallas police came down and took me down and the FBI
was waiting there.
Mr. BALL. Before they brought you down did they show you a picture?
Mr. WHALEY. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. They didn't?
Mr. WHALEY. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. They brought you down to the Dallas police station?
Mr. WHALEY. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What did you do there?
Mr. WHALEY. Well, I tried to get by the reporters, stepping over
television cables and you couldn't hardly get by, they would grab
you and wanted to know what you were doing down here, even with the
detectives one in front and one behind you. Then they took me in
an office there and I think Bill Alexander, the Assistant District
Attorney, two or three, I was introduced to two or three who were FBI
men and they wanted my deposition of what happened.
So, I told them to the best of my ability. Then they took me down in
their room where they have their show-ups, and all, and me and this
other taxi driver who was with me, sir, we sat in the room awhile and
directly they brought in six men, young teenagers, and they all were
handcuffed together. Well, they wanted me to pick out my passenger.
At that time he had on a pair of black pants and white T-shirt, that is
all he had on. But you could have picked him out without identifying
him by just listening to him because he was bawling out the policeman,
telling them it wasn't right to put him in line with these teen-agers
and all of that and they asked me which one and I told them. It was him
all right, the same man.
Mr. BALL. They had him in line with men much younger?
Mr. WHALEY. With five others.
Mr. BALL. Men much younger?
Mr. WHALEY. Not much younger, but just young kids they might have got
them in jail.
Mr. BALL. Did he look older than those other boys?
Mr. WHALEY. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And he was talking, was he?
Mr. WHALEY. He showed no respect for the policemen, he told them what
he thought about them. They knew what they were doing and they were
trying to railroad him and he wanted his lawyer.
Mr. BALL. Did that aid you in the identification of the man?
Mr. WHALEY. No, sir; it wouldn't have at all, except that I said
anybody who wasn't sure could have picked out the right one just for
that. It didn't aid me because I knew he was the right one as soon as I
saw him.
Mr. BALL. You don't think that that in any way influenced your
identification?
Mr. WHALEY. No, sir; it did not. When you drive a taxi, sir, as long as
I have, you can almost look at a man, in fact, you have to, to be able
to tell whether you can trust or whether you can't trust him, what he
is.
Now, like you got in my taxicab and I looked you over and you told me
just wait for me here and went in the building, well, I will have to
know whether I could just say, "OK, sir." Or say, "Will you leave me a
$5 bill, sir?"
When you drive a taxi that long you learn to judge people and what I
actually thought of the man when he got in was that he was a wino who
had been off his bottle for about two days, that is the way he looked,
sir, that was my opinion of him.
Mr. BALL. What was there about his appearance that gave you that
impression? Hair mussed?
Mr. WHALEY. Just the slow way he walked up. He didn't talk. He wasn't
in any hurry. He wasn't nervous or anything.
Mr. BALL. He didn't run?
Mr. WHALEY. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he look dirty?
Mr. WHALEY. He looked like his clothes had been slept in, sir, but
he wasn't actually dirty. The T-shirt was a little soiled around the
collar but the bottom part of it was white. You have to know those
winos, or they will get in and ride with you and there isn't nothing
you can do but call the police, the city gets the fine and you get
nothing.
Mr. BALL. Who was the other cab driver?
Mr. WHALEY. I don't know his name, sir. He worked for the same company
but he works out of the Oak Cliff branch. They say he was the one who
saw him kill the policeman, the one who used the policeman's microphone.
Mr. BALL. Is that Mr. Scoggins?
Mr. WHALEY. What is his name?
Mr. BALL. Scoggins.
Mr. WHALEY. It could have been, sir.
Mr. BALL. You don't know him?
Mr. WHALEY. I just know he drives taxi 213. He works out of Oak Cliff
branch.
Mr. BALL. I would like to have a copy of the manifest temporarily
marked 370.
Mr. WHALEY. You may have it, sir.
Mr. BALL. Commission 370, and offer it into evidence and ask leave to
submit the original, if it is brought in, when it is brought here by
the FBI.
The CHAIRMAN. Yes, it may be admitted.
(The manifest referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 370 for
identification and received in evidence.)
Mr. BALL. This will be 370.
Could we excuse Mr. Whaley now? There are two pieces of evidence to be
here and they are not here.
The CHAIRMAN. Excuse him and we will take the other witness.
Mr. BALL. We will excuse him and take the other witness.
The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Whaley, will you wait outside until we get the other
exhibits and we will finish with you very shortly.
Mr. McWatters, would you be seated please.
Mr. McWATTERS. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. The Commission is meeting today to take further testimony
concerning the events surrounding the assassination of President
Kennedy, and it is our understanding that you have some information
that would bear on that subject, and that is the reason for our asking
you to come here and testify.
Would you raise your right hand to be sworn please.
Do you solemnly swear the testimony you give before this Commission
will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help
you God?
Mr. McWATTERS. I do.