Jim Leavelle

Jim Leavelle
Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. Leavelle is at the left side of the photograph, in the light suit.
Born	James Robert Leavelle (1920-08-23) August 23, 1920 (age 96) Red River County, Texas
Nationality	American
Signature

James Robert "Jim" Leavelle (born August 23, 1920) is a Pearl Harbor veteran and the former Dallas, Texas, homicide detective who was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. Widely distributed photographs of Oswald shortly before the shooting, depict Leavelle standing to Oswald's right and wearing a light-colored suit with matching hat.

Leavelle was born and raised in Red River County, Texas. He served in the United States Navy during World War II, and was a sailor on board the USS Whitney during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Leavelle became a homicide detective after World War II ended. He joined the Dallas Police Department in April 1950 and retired in April 1975.

Leavelle later said to author Joseph McBride that to him, the murder of President John F. Kennedy was "no different than a south Dallas nigger killing".

After the Kennedy Assassination occurred, Leavelle was in charge of escorting the suspect Lee Harvey Oswald through the Dallas Police Headquarters. Handcuffed to Oswald, Leavelle led Oswald towards an escort car through the basement of the Dallas Police Department, where Jack Ruby, fatally shot Oswald.

Doctor Robert Mcelland who treated Oswald after he was shot, noticed Leavelle waiting outside the hospital room and says that Leavelle told him that after Oswald was shot, he claimed to have "leaned over Oswald and said, 'Son, you're hurt real bad. Do you wanna say anything?' He looked at me for a second. He waited, like he was thinking. Then he shook his head back and forth just as wide as he could. Then he closed his eyes."