William Kelly Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 At 1:35 seconds into this TV news segment, Robert Rowe is identified as a former Dallas undercover policeman who assisted in the arrest of Oswald. http://video.aol.com/video-detail/dealey-p...sary/2212126816 There is are also four documents at NARA on a John Robert Rowe, identified as a suspect in the assassination. Does anyone have any information on former DPD officer Robert Rowe. Has the Sixth Floor Museum done an oral history with this man? BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Howard Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 At 1:35 seconds into this TV news segment, Robert Rowe is identified as a former Dallas undercover policeman who assisted in the arrest of Oswald. http://video.aol.com/video-detail/dealey-p...sary/2212126816 There is are also four documents at NARA on a John Robert Rowe, identified as a suspect in the assassination. Does anyone have any information on former DPD officer Robert Rowe. Has the Sixth Floor Museum done an oral history with this man? BK I will wait before voicing any opinions, but if Mr Rowe was an undercover policeman in the Texas Theater, it seems like one of the best kept secrets I've ever encountered. There is nothing mentioning him in the Mary ferrell database, nor from what I can tell at the Dallas City Archives on the JFK Assassination; at least in the index. The issue has definitely gained my attention...... Wonder if Mr Mack has anything to add...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Walker Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 For what it's worth... http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...bsPageId=140890 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Walker Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 And for those interested... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8072503125.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kelly Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 For what it's worth...http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...bsPageId=140890 Thanks Robert, and RW, so his middle initial is A and he worked on the graveyard shift, so what was he doing in the theater? Also, why is their no other mention of him anywhere? BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Howard Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 For what it's worth...http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...bsPageId=140890 Thanks Robert, and RW, so his middle initial is A and he worked on the graveyard shift, so what was he doing in the theater? Also, why is their no other mention of him anywhere? BK Good questions, Bill. Thanks to Robert Walker for noticing the patrolman listing. I would still be interested in Gary Mack's comments...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Richards Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Is this the Robert Rowe we are talking about? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kelly Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Is this the Robert Rowe we are talking about?James Yes James, Do you have a pix of him disquised as a beatnick? I need a laugh. Thanks BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Richards Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Bill, No photos of Rowe doing his Maynard G. Krebs impression but I do seem to remember that he was mixed up with Henry Wade being charged with DWI. I lost a pile of computer files and now can't find anything. Does anyone have any details re the Wade episode? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Lane Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Thanks Robert, and RW, so his middle initial is A and he worked on the graveyard shift, so what was he doing in the theater? Also, why is their no other mention of him anywhere?I told you, Bill. I mean, we're talking some great cover here, y'know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Knight Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 What I'm wondering is...if Rowe was undercover...why was he listed as a patrolman on the roster? I'm aware of the common stereotype of detectives working undercover, but not so much of patrolmen working undercover. But I'm not a cop, so I really don't know how that works. Just seems bogus to me, as my perception of "patrolman" is that these are generally uniformed cops who patrol, whether on foot or in a car...hence the name "patrolman." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Lane Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Mark, the term "patrolman" is a rank or grade as much if not more than it is a job function. C.W. Brown, for example, was (according to his partner, C.N. Dhority) "a patrolman temporarily assigned to" the Homicide and Robbery Bureau of DPD on November 22, although he represented himself during his April 3, 1964, deposition as "a detective." He may have had the job function of "detective," but he was still in a "patrolman" pay grade after 13 years on the force. Several police officers I know eschew sergeant's stripes because it can limit their assignment options, especially while they're a "junior" sergeant (i.e., time in grade) and have to take "bad" shifts or jobs, or not allow them to perform job functions they enjoy (e.g., motorcycle patrol). You might also compare those who were assigned to the Southwest Area Substation (see this page) for those who were "patrolmen" in Tippit's part of town; not all were "radio patrol" officers, at least not who were identified with any kind of call sign associated with their names during the course of that afternoon (see critics' tape transcript, link above). Two things are striking about Rowe's placement on the duty roster: first, that he's assigned to the first platoon, which is the midnight-to-eight a.m. shift (that is, he was already technically "off duty" for the day, hours before JFK landed at Love Field); and second, that he is listed as being assigned to the Northeast Substation, a good distance from Oak Cliff. The other thing, having nothing to do with the duty roster, is his failure to submit an "after-action" report. A sworn officer is always "on duty," even when he's not in uniform. If he was out with his family at a restaurant and thwarted a robbery as they were leaving, his being "off shift" does not absolve him of the administrative and other details of the "after-action" sort other than perhaps giving him over to another officer who was actually "on shift" to take into jail (in some jurisdictions, he might even be required to fill out his reports that night rather than the next day; bring the family home and go into work). It's still possible that he lived in or near Oak Cliff, heard the squawk on the scanner (did they have those then?), or that he was still working a case, or any of a laundry list of other possibilities, but the apparent evidence is that he was nowhere near the Texas Theater when Oswald was arrested. I don't believe he was, but the possibility remains, although the likelihood doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Walker Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 (edited) It is also possible that the list seems to be from the month of November and not the specific assignments that day. Perhaps there were overtime shifts available for crowd control and other duties, etc, that an officer could sign up for. As for "undercover", maybe he meant "plainclothes" or something like that. Maybe he can point himself out in a photo or provide one of him "back in the day". We can always ask him. He lives around here somewhere. Edited December 4, 2008 by Robert Walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kelly Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 It is also possible that the list seems to be from the month of November and not the specific assignments that day. Perhaps there were overtime shifts available for crowd control and other duties, etc, that an officer could sign up for.As for "undercover", maybe he meant "plainclothes" or something like that. Maybe he can point himself out in a photo or provide one of him "back in the day". We can always ask him. He lives around here somewhere. Yes, Robert, we can still ask him, and knock on wood for that. Gary Mack says that the Sixth Floor does not have an oral history with Mr. Rowe. But it shouldn't be hard to find him, as he still seems to be a resident of the Dallas area. Of course someone like Dale Myers, Dave Perry or Gus Russo will get to him first and instead of being properly questioned, and the answers shared with everyone, they'll ask him if he knew David Ferrie or rant and rave about conspiracy theorists accusing him of being involved in something or other. That's the way it usually goes. My main point is that there are many living witnesses who have never been properly questioned, and a valid answer to those who wonder who is left to testify at a Congressional Hearing or a Grand Jury. There are plenty of witnesses left, and plenty of unanswered questions they can help answer. BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Walker Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 (edited) I'll try to locate him and see if he would like to do an oral history at SMU (where I work). RW Edited December 4, 2008 by Robert Walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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