OUR HIDDEN HISTORY podcast on JFK and Tippit murders

[Joseph McBride]

 

[Andrej Stancak]

Joseph:

this is a great podcast and a great book of yours, one of my favorite JFK assassination books. 

I wonder if there is any chance to view the list of Dallas police officers (1960') who were KKK members? Both Chief Curry and  Captain Fritz were in KKK during their young years (and maybe even later). 

[David Andrews]

I have a feeling that the story Officer Mensel (sic) told Mrs. Tippit was a lie, and that Tippit was marked for death regardless.

Also, since Tippit blocked the alley with his car, did he first observe the person he talked to through the car window exit the alley onto Patton, having been brought there by the alleged Croy/Westbrook car,  and dropped off further up the alley?

Edited September 22, 2018 by David Andrews

[Joseph McBride]

I doubt there is a list of DPD officers who were Klan members. Morris

Brumley surprised me by bringing up his KKK membership in our interview, with

a tape recorder going on the table in front of him, and boasting about his involvement,

showing me his membership card and talking about the crimes he helped commit.

It was a stunning moment. Brumley had known Tippit from their youth.

 

Edited September 23, 2018 by Joseph McBride

[Joseph McBride]

David, I read your question a couple of times but can't follow it, so please rephrase it.

[Andrej Stancak]

3 hours ago, Joseph McBride said:

I doubt there is a list of DPD officers who were Klan members. Morris

Brumley surprised me by bringing up his KKK membership in our interview, with

a tape recorder going on the table in front of him, and boasting about his involvement,

showing me his membership card and talking about the crimes he helped commit.

It was a stunning moment. Brumley had known Tippit from their youth.

 

Thanks for your comment. I will keep searching for a list of DPD Klansmen, just in case. If we knew who from the Dallas Police force was in KKK, it would give a better idea who was in the inner circle within the force, connected more than by their work duties. These officers would cover each other's backs during any investigation.

[Joseph McBride]

When I told a Dallas researcher that Morris Brumley had claimed he "infiltrated"

the Klan for the Dallas police, he laughed and said a majority of the Dallas

KKK were DPD members. You'd be hard pressed to find membership lists of a criminal organization, though perhaps

it's possible there is one somewhere.

[David Andrews]

On 9/23/2018 at 2:12 AM, Joseph McBride said:

David, I read your question a couple of times but can't follow it, so please rephrase it.

What I meant: Since Tippit blocked the alley entrance with his car, was it because the subject that he next talked to through the passenger side window had walked down the alley toward Patton (instead of walking along the Patton sidewalk until Tippit stopped him, as is commonly supposed)?  And might that person have walked toward Patton after exiting the police car said to be waiting further up the alley?

This puts a new spin on things: subject gets out of one police car in the alley and walks down to Patton, where another police car pulls up at his feet.  After a verbal exchange through the car window, the cop gets out and  starts to come around the front of the car.  That might make a subject carrying a pistol feel like he was being set up.

Could the subject have been brought to the alley in one cop car (Westbrook's/Croy's), walked down to Patton Street, and been spooked by another cop car (Tippit's) pulling up and blocking the alley where it met the street? 

Or, instead, was Tippit directed (by radio?) to pull up and block the alley and confront the subject, who had been ordered to shoot Tippit?

Too much police focus on one alley to not make the alley significant to the Tippit killing.

Edited September 25, 2018 by David Andrews

[Andrej Stancak]

On 9/23/2018 at 10:38 PM, Joseph McBride said:

When I told a Dallas researcher that Morris Brumley had claimed he "infiltrated"

the Klan for the Dallas police, he laughed and said a majority of the Dallas

KKK were DPD members. You'd be hard pressed to find membership lists of a criminal organization, though perhaps

it's possible there is one somewhere.

Joseph:

I was able to obtain one list of Klansmen, and am posting it in a new thread.

[Mark Lawson]

Here is the section of Professor McBride's podcast interview that especially gets my attention:

[~41:09] ... If Tippit was involved in the shooting of Kennedy, it would have been very convenient to have all three of them killed within an hour or so - Kennedy, Tippit and Oswald - and they would have wrapped up the whole case and looked like heroes; but it didn't really work out because Oswald was allowed to live; and so then they had to have him killed in the police station - which was a real messy thing to do.

But, I couldn't *prove* that Tippit was the grassy knoll shooter.  One reason is that his wife gave him an alibi that he was home for lunch.

And, her story kept changing, though, over the years.  She told many versions of it that don't quite jibe.  And, I couldn't get an interview with her - I tried to, and she didn't reply.  And, then after the book was published, she appeared in public at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas with her children - her surviving children - two children.  And, so I flew to Dallas to try to get an interview with her; and I went up to her after the event, and she seemed very friendly - I introduced myself, told her I had written this book; and she seemed very nice; and I said, "Could I interview you?  I'm here in town briefly, could I see you tomorrow?"  And she said, "Yeah, I'd be happy to do that."

[~42:22] And then this policeman came over who was her minder, kind of.  And I've been told that she's always been surrounded by the Dallas Police, who keep a close eye on her; and in a protector, etc. - or whatever they - protect her and control her.

And this guy came over and said, "Who are you?  I'm - ya' know, I'm in charge of her schedule."  So I gave him my card, and he gave me his card.  And he said, "Well, we'll work it out - we'll get back to you."

Of course he never got back to me.  And, so she was willing to give an interview - and she didn't, because of this guy.

And then, so I went over and talked to Tippit's son Curtis, who was a very friendly, nice fellow; and we were having an interesting ... talking ... and the same policeman came over and literally yanked Curtis by the arm and pulled him away from me.  It was bizarre.

So, I was hoping to try to quiz Mrs. Tippit further and at lunch, because her stories kept changing, and the times kept changing.

[Snip]

[~44:03] So, it's still an open question with me whether he was home for lunch, or whether his wife was giving him a convenient alibi.

So I think the available evidence shows that he was part of the operation.  Soon after the shooting they wanted to eliminate Oswald.  So they sent Tippit....

----------------------

Into the Nightmare was published in 2013, and Professor McBride states that the above-described encounter with Tippit's widow and son Curtis took place after that; so, 50 years on - and counting - Tippit's family is still being held in a prison without bars.  ML

[Joe Bauer]

I must read McBride's books. Esp. "Into The Nightmare."

Have to leave on an errand right now but was able to listen the original post interview for it's first 20 minutes or so.

Joseph, what was the jury make up all those years Dallas D.A. Henry Wade was convicting innocent people?  One can be sure that Wade's juries did not reflect the actual gender and racial make up of Dallas at that time. Mostly all white men for sure.

Wade was former FBI?  Brings to mind Guy Banister's FBI career. Bet these two admired each other.

Wade is "the" Wade in "Roe V. Wade?" Interesting fact I didn't know.

You say some of the Tippit murder witnesses were "paid off" to state takes that were false?  Do you have any guess as to who did this paying off?

Helen Markham and Acquilla Clemens. 

Markham was so erratic and made such contradictory and nonsensical statements, she seemed quite paranoid and often hysterical. Wonder if she had been seriously traumatized in her life "before" her involvement with the Tippit slaying.

If not, this event sure made her that way.

Ms. Clemens seemed like a very poor eyewitness to me.

Her descriptions were so vague , even odd.  She came across to me as perhaps quite dull witted, or, perhaps she wasn't dull witted and the whole event scared her so much she just made up stuff that she knew would make her "appear" to be dull witted and a poor eye-witness so she would be left alone in this regards.

Joseph, what do you make of Henry Wade's Friday night or Saturday news conference charade where he "pretended" to not know Jack Ruby personally?  

It was so obvious Wade was trying to hide his Jack Ruby relationship and made it seem he wasn't sure how to even pronounce his name " a Jack Rubenstein I believe" ...in this ridiculously amateur act.  Chief Curry did the same thing.  They "all" knew Jack Ruby well.

Nancy Hamilton stated to Mark Lane that Henry Wade was a visitor to Ruby's Carousel Club when she worked there.

When she was asked by Lane who all came in and was served free booze at Jack Ruby's club while she worked there Hamilton responded..."Dallas's Finest" ... "like your District Attorney Henry Wade."

You mentioned how corrupt Dallas was in those days. Obviously mind boggling so.

And a place that could have hung a separate sign underneath their city limit "Welcome To Dallas" one which proudly proclaimed it's KKK heritage and membership and not been laughed at or disputed!

 

Edited September 26, 2018 by Joe Bauer