The testimony of E. D. Brewer was taken at 10 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. David W. Belin, assistant counsel
of the President's Commission.
Mr. BELIN. Would you stand and raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will be
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. BREWER. I do.
Mr. BELIN. Would you state your name.
Mr. BREWER. E. D. Brewer.
Mr. BELIN. What is your occupation, Mr. Brewer?
Mr. BREWER. Police officer for the City of Dallas.
Mr. BELIN. How old are you?
Mr. BREWER. I am 32 years old.
Mr. BELIN. You go to school here in Dallas?
Mr. BREWER. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. How far did you get through school?
Mr. BREWER. I graduated from high school.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do?
Mr. BREWER. I got married and went to work for the Dallas Power &
Light. About a year later I went into the U.S. Coast Guard and stayed 3
years.
Mr. BELIN. Honorable discharge?
Mr. BREWER. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do?
Mr. BREWER. I went to work for the Dallas Police Department.
Mr. BELIN. You have been working for them about 10 years now?
Mr. BREWER. Since December 1954.
Mr. BELIN. Were you on duty on November 22, 1963?
Mr. BREWER. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. What was your assignment that day?
Mr. BREWER. I was riding solo motorcycle, in the Presidential motorcade.
Mr. BELIN. What position were you in in the motorcade?
Mr. BREWER. I was in the front.
Mr. BELIN. By which car? Near which car?
Mr. BREWER. If I remember correctly, the President's car was about--the
Chief of Police was in a car immediately in front. The President's car
was behind him, I believe, if I remember correctly, and I was in front
of the Chief's car.
Mr. BELIN. You were in front of the Chief's car?
Mr. BREWER. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. You were in the lead part of the motorcade?
Mr. BREWER. Yes. I was the front vehicle. There was four or five of us
up there in a line across the street.
Mr. BELIN. Do you remember how fast you were going as you went down
Main Street there towards Houston?
Mr. BREWER. No, sir; not exactly. The speed of it would vary
considerably according to the crowd of people on each side of the
street as to how we could get through.
Mr. BELIN. Did you remember how fast you were going as you turned north
on Houston?
Mr. BREWER. It was in my assignment to leave my position there and go
ahead of the motorcade as we were approaching Houston on Main Street,
and before we got to Houston Street I left. I pulled out ahead of them,
and following the same route, went down to the intersection or to where
the motorcade was to come onto Stemmons Freeway.
Mr. BELIN. So your speed wasn't necessarily accurate with the
motorcade, is that correct, sometimes?
Mr. BREWER. Yes, sir; I had pulled away from the motorcade on Main
Street and proceeded on down to the Stemmons Freeway.
Mr. BELIN. Where were you when you heard the shot?
Mr. BREWER. I never did hear any shots.
Mr. BELIN. When was the first time you learned that something was wrong?
Mr. BREWER. I was on Stemmons Freeway there where you come onto it,
where the motorcade come onto Stemmons. Went under Stemmons and around
to the right and onto Stemmons, and I was on Stemmons Expressway off of
my motorcycle there on the expressway when I believe I heard it on the
radio first about the shooting.
Mr. BELIN. Were you to stop traffic on the expressway?
Mr. BREWER. Yes. I was to assist some other officers in stopping
traffic on the expressway to allow the motorcade to get onto it.
Mr. BELIN. So you were in the process of stopping traffic, waiting for
the motorcade to come by, when you heard something on your motorcycle
radio?
Mr. BREWER. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. How far were you from the so-called underpass there, or
overpass there?
Mr. BREWER. I was to the north of where the railroad track goes over.
Let's see, the railroad track, where the railroad tracks go over
Stemmons Expressway. I was to the north of that.
Mr. BELIN. Let me try and get a sketch. Officer, I just stepped out of
the room to come back in and bring a map of Dallas, which I believe
is similar to Commission's Exhibit 371, which I am going to mark here
Deposition Exhibit A, which we will call it E. D. Brewer deposition
Exhibit A. I have it marked in red pencil here, and on this map of
Dallas, on one side of it in one corner of it is a section called,
Downtown Dallas, and this is towards the top of the reverse side of the
map.
I am going to ask you to look at this map. You see the place here, it
looks like Dedley Plaza, Main Street runs into that, which is Houston,
then you turned north on Houston and Elm, and then you take Elm?
Mr. BREWER. Left on Elm.
Mr. BELIN. Left on Elm. You went under the railroad underpass there,
which appears to be in green on the map, is that correct?
Mr. BREWER. Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Then I am going to ask you to take a pencil or a ball point
pen, and you might just follow the route that you took. Just mark it
parallel to whatever street you took to where you ended up.