J.D. Tippit Warren Commission Vertical Files & Other Documents

J.D. Tippit Warren Commission Vertical Files & Other Documents

This collection contains a total of 1,033 pages of files.

J.D. Tippit (September 18, 1924 – November 22, 1963) a 11-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department was on beat number 78 patrolling the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, 15 minutes after the shooting of President Kennedy. A description of the assassin had been given to patrol officers as a 5'10" slender white male, in his early 30s, weighing approximately 165 lbs.

At approximately 1:14 p.m., Tippit drove pulled up to a pedestrian, later selected from a lineup as Lee Harvey Oswald. Witnesses reported that Tippit and Oswald exchanged words, then Tippit exited his car and as he walked toward Oswald, Oswald drew and fired five shots hitting Tippit four times.

Files in this collection include:

501 pages of files collected or created by The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, most often referred to as the Warren Commission, dating from November 1963 to September 1964, covering Tippit. Includes documents from the FBI, Secret Service, and the Dallas Police Department.

The material focuses on the activity of Lee Harvey Oswald before and after the shooting of J.D. Tippit, testimony of witnesses of the killing of Tippit, and the investigation of whether Tippit knew Jack Ruby.          


Other material includes:

Transcript of Officer Tippit's last radio transmission.

William W. Scoggins, Domingo Benavides, Ted Callaway, Barbara Jeannette Davis, Virginia Ruth Davis and Helen Louise Markham, witnesses to the shooting of Tippit, Warren Commission Vertical Files including documents from the FBI, Secret Service, and Dallas Police Department.

Autopsy Report on Officer J. D. Tippit, by Earl F. Rose.

42 pages, mostly FBI Files, released by the National Archives and Records Administration's JFK Assassination Records Review Board. The files, released in 2017, mostly cover statements by informants and others that were contradictory to conclusions reached by the Warren Commission about issues related to Tippit. 

J.D. Tippit's Dallas Police Department Personnel Record. Records including applications, salary cards, and notices of injuries sustained on duty.

Dallas Police Dept. Complaints and Commendations File for J. D. Tippit