Information on Patrick Dean

[Ron Bulman]

On 8/23/2024 at 3:16 PM, Denis Morissette said:

Dean, Part 1.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13UArEe6CzWu6CUoVQcU0wsoYTd2m53JL/view?usp=sharing

Dean, Part 2. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PkiDLaZeWWRPs684HO5_jJyGGkJrgs0I/view?usp=sharing

Regarding part 1.  Any idea who the interviewer is on this?  It gives a date of 11/15/1977 but not their names.  The main one sounds like Michael Brownlow, is it possibly him and Dr. Pulte?  Haven't listened to part 2 yet.

[Ron Bulman]

Notes on part 1 of the Dean interview in 1977.

He knew Ruby 12-14 years before the assassination?  In his WC testimony he said he first met him when moved to patrolling downtown in 1958, 5 years before.  12 years before would have put it in 1951, the year before he joined the DPD.  Born in 1932 he would have been 19 at the time, 14 = 17.

"They" called LBJ at his ranch the day after his testimony to Griffin.  Griffin called back to Washington the day after that.  I heard Wade's name somewhere in this, he knew idolized LBJ (established fact).

He helped subdue Ruby?  Not what he said in his WC testimony.

Goddamn Jack, to Dean.  I'm sorry, Ruby.  You put me in a hell of a fix, Dean. 

Dean went to Parkland afterwards on his own initiative, informing no one (WC).  Took Margurite and Marina to see Lee's body after the autopsy.  Margurite lifted the sheet and they observed the stitches from it.

Knew the Civellos, Sam Campisi mentioned, attended an evening Italian dinner with them once.  

JR, any of these girls would go out with you.  Dean told him I don't go out with strippers or whores.  Really something to say to a friendly acquaintance? 

As opposed to Oswald.  JR was moved out the front door of City Hall at high noon when he was transferred to the county jail.

When he told Dean he said he shot Oswald to save Jackie from a Dallas trial, he had a sarcastic sneer on his face. 

Tippitt worked for me several years???

More tomorrow maybe.   

[Jean Ceulemans]

11 hours ago, Ron Bulman said:

Notes on part 1 of the Dean interview in 1977.

He knew Ruby 12-14 years before the assassination?  In his WC testimony he said he first met him when moved to patrolling downtown in 1958, 5 years before.  12 years before would have put it in 1951, the year before he joined the DPD.  Born in 1932 he would have been 19 at the time, 14 = 17.

"They" called LBJ at his ranch the day after his testimony to Griffin.  Griffin called back to Washington the day after that.  I heard Wade's name somewhere in this, he knew idolized LBJ (established fact).

He helped subdue Ruby?  Not what he said in his WC testimony.

Goddamn Jack, to Dean.  I'm sorry, Ruby.  You put me in a hell of a fix, Dean. 

Dean went to Parkland afterwards on his own initiative, informing no one (WC).  Took Margurite and Marina to see Lee's body after the autopsy.  Margurite lifted the sheet and they observed the stitches from it.

Knew the Civellos, Sam Campisi mentioned, attended an evening Italian dinner with them once.  

JR, any of these girls would go out with you.  Dean told him I don't go out with strippers or whores.  Really something to say to a friendly acquaintance? 

As opposed to Oswald.  JR was moved out the front door of City Hall at high noon when he was transferred to the county jail.

When he told Dean he said he shot Oswald to save Jackie from a Dallas trial, he had a sarcastic sneer on his face. 

Tippitt worked for me several years???

More tomorrow maybe.   

Thanks!

I think that - at least part of him - IMO is typical for local policemen that have served like a decade or so.  They have connections all over town, with all sorts of people, good and bad (and a lot more in between).  I think that is also why DPD screwed up sometimes. Not asking hard questions to certain people, always protecting their own,...

From a distance, very tough to untangle what is clear to insiders.

[Kevin Balch]

4 hours ago, Jean Ceulemans said:

Thanks!

I think that - at least part of him - IMO is typical for local policemen that have served like a decade or so.  They have connections all over town, with all sorts of people, good and bad (and a lot more in between).  I think that is also why DPD screwed up sometimes. Not asking hard questions to certain people, always protecting their own,...

From a distance, very tough to untangle what is clear to insiders.

If Tippit worked for Dean, he surely must have encountered Ruby.

[Ron Bulman]

3 hours ago, Kevin Balch said:

If Tippit worked for Dean, he surely must have encountered Ruby.

The if is why I put the ??? after Deans statement.  Dean in his WC statements said he worked east of downtown as a patrolman before being promoted to Sargent, then within a year or so being transferred to downtown.  Tippit patrolled south Dallas/Oak Cliff.  IDK, maybe Tippit did work east Dallas earlier in his career.  For that matter Oak Cliff is S/E of downtown, maybe east and S/E overlapped.  maybe he did work for Dean the year or so he was a Sargent in east Dallas.

His statement made me wonder why I'd never read anything about this.  Because no one on the WC ever asked him if he knew Tippit?  Or?  Brownlow or whoever didn't press him on the issue, when did Tippit work for you, where?  

[Ron Bulman]

21 hours ago, Ron Bulman said:

Notes on part 1 of the Dean interview in 1977.

He knew Ruby 12-14 years before the assassination?  In his WC testimony he said he first met him when moved to patrolling downtown in 1958, 5 years before.  12 years before would have put it in 1951, the year before he joined the DPD.  Born in 1932 he would have been 19 at the time, 14 = 17.

"They" called LBJ at his ranch the day after his testimony to Griffin.  Griffin called back to Washington the day after that.  I heard Wade's name somewhere in this, he knew idolized LBJ (established fact).

He helped subdue Ruby?  Not what he said in his WC testimony.

Goddamn Jack, to Dean.  I'm sorry, Ruby.  You put me in a hell of a fix, Dean. 

Dean went to Parkland afterwards on his own initiative, informing no one (WC).  Took Margurite and Marina to see Lee's body after the autopsy.  Margurite lifted the sheet and they observed the stitches from it.

Knew the Civellos, Sam Campisi mentioned, attended an evening Italian dinner with them once.  

JR, any of these girls would go out with you.  Dean told him I don't go out with strippers or whores.  Really something to say to a friendly acquaintance? 

As opposed to Oswald.  JR was moved out the front door of City Hall at high noon when he was transferred to the county jail.

When he told Dean he said he shot Oswald to save Jackie from a Dallas trial, he had a sarcastic sneer on his face. 

Tippitt worked for me several years???

More tomorrow maybe.   

To finish up on part 1.  

Dean said Griffin told him I could have you on the stand and refute everything you said.  Quite in contrast to what Griffin says he said ("this is not a prosecution, we can't do anything to you, we're just seeking the truth.")   Dean also says Griffin mentioned not trying to endanger his job with the DPD.  Then Dean tells him "You're trying to con me, like I do with prisoners."   Definitely a little animosity there.

[Ron Bulman]

This is not Michael Brownlow interviewing him.  It's the HSCA, like it says in the upper left hand corner, if I'd pay closer attention.  Part 2 mainly concerns a call Dean says he got from Canada about a film of the assassination.  Which he suspects the FBI or CIA may have intercepted on its way to him.  An interesting story in itself.

[David Josephs]

FWIW When John and I researched https://harveyandlee.net/Oswald_Killed/Oswald_Killed.html and how Oswald was brought to Ruby at the precise time he needed to, Sgt. Pat DEAN was involved/had knowledge of the removal of those guarding the parking area between the East elevators (closest to the Western Union Bldg) and where Oswald was brought out. As well as the prime source/confirmation Ruby came down the ramp.  Both provably false as shown in the linked article.

This is before and after Worley and Brock are replace by "an unidentified Reserve officer". CROY was a Reserve Officer who winds up standing next to Ruby just before he kills Oswald.

Mr. Griffin: Who checked the stairway door in the garage that leads up into the municipal building? (ANNEX)
Mr. Dean: The stairway door?
Mr. Griffin: Yes.
Mr. Dean: I don't know of any door that leads up into the--the stairway?
Mr. Griffin: There is a stairway…. over where the elevators are
Mr. Dean: Oh, Oh, yes
Mr. Griffin: Who checked that door?
Mr. Dean: Sergeant Putnam checked it once and I checked it once and it was locked.
Mr. Griffin: Did you know at the time you checked it that even though the door was locked from the outside, it could be opened from the inside?
Mr. Dean: [No response.]

 

 

 

 

Sgt. Patrick Dean and the Main St. ramp

Sgt. Patrick Dean, in charge of security for Oswald’s transfer, was likely the 3rd person to see Ruby in the basement. Dean was standing near the armored truck at the top of the Commerce St. ramp (see below). From this location Dean could see down the Commerce St. ramp and the area below that included the two police cars, dozens of people, TV cameras, and the lower incline to the parking area which was dimly lit and 75 to 100 feet distant. It is important to remember that from Dean’s location he was able to see only the lower portion of the Main St. ramp, but not the upper portion and entrance into the ramp. Burt Griffin deposed Dean on March 24, 1964.

 

Mr. Dean: I heard someone say, "Here he comes, they are bringing him out." Of course, you could hear voices, loud voices, or excitement, and then I saw a man just dart in--this was during all the confusion, before the shooting, but I do recall seeing a man dart out. I couldn't tell who he was. It was that fast [witness snaps fingers].
Mr. Griffin: Where did he seem to dart from?
Mr. Dean: From the rail over here. The side just dart out from a group of people that were standing against the rail facing the exit [indicating].
Mr. Griffin: All right. Can you mark there with an "X" and a circle around it, approximately where he was and how close he was to this railing? Do you think he was fight on ,the railing or [indicating]--
Mr. Dean: Well, the railing--you have a curb there and then I don't recall how wide that curb is, but the railing, you can lean against standing on the ramp itself [indicating].
Mr. Griffin: Yes; how far would you say he was from that railing?
Mr. Dean: I would say he was up against the railing.
Mr. Griffin: Now, is that the man that shot Oswald?
Mr. Dean: Yes, sir.
 

There are no known witnesses who recalled seeing this man (Ruby), or anyone, walk from the stairway to the railing in the dimly lit parking area. Sgt. Dean first noticed this man when he (Ruby) “darted in” from the lower portion of the Main St. ramp and shot Oswald. It was only after this man shot Oswald and was subdued by police officers that Dean learned he was Jack Ruby, a good friend of Dean's. 

Moments after Ruby shot Oswald and was subdued by police, he said, “You all know me. I’m Jack Ruby.” RUBY SAID, “YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS.” A few minutes later Sgt. Dean was interviewed on camera by the press. Five to ten minutes later Dean was on the 3rd floor of City Hall (police headquarters) and was told by Chief Curry to escort Secret Service agent Forrest Sorrels to the 5th floor (jail) to interview Jack Ruby. In his report to Chief Curry two days later, on November 26, Dean said that Ruby told him “in the presence of Mr. Sorrels that he (Ruby) had entered the basement through the ramp entering on Main Street.” Dean told the WC about their conversation. Ruby allegedly told Dean, "I walked in the Main Street ramp…I have just been to the Western Union to mail a money order to Fort Worth…. I walked from the Western Union to the ramp…. I saw Sam Pierce drive out of the basement. At that time, at the time the car drove out is when I walked in." Agent Sorrels, head of the Secret Service in Dallas, reported that Ruby “said no such thing.” Detectives Clardy, Archer, and McMillion were there with Dean when Ruby allegedly told Dean he walked down the Main St. Ramp, yet not one of these detectives said anything about the ramp in their initial reports concerning the murder of Oswald.

After the conversation between Sorrells and Ruby ended, Sgt. Dean said, “When I got back to the city hail, I contacted Lieutenant Pierce and advised him--that's when I talked to Pierce about my conversation with Ruby, and I told him that I had talked to Ruby and that he told me that--how he had gotten into the basement, which was breaking security, and that Officer R. E. Vaughn was the man involved….He (Pierce) notified the captain (Talbert) of this.” Two days later Dean submitted his written report to Chief Curry, and identified Ruby’s point of entry as the Main St. ramp (guarded by Roy Vaughn). Now Sgt. Dean could not change his story. Tom Howard was the first attorney to advise and counsel Ruby. Howard said. “Ruby’s hesitancy about discussing his entrance into the basement of City Hall was because he didn’t want to get a Dallas Police officer and friend in trouble.” But Howard said nothing about how Ruby entered the basement. During Ruby’s trial for murdering Oswald, in March, 1964, he wrote a note to his attorney, Joseph Tonahill, and said, "Joe, you should know this…. it was Tom Howard who told me to say that I had come in via the ramp.” If this is true, then Ruby did not tell Sgt. Dean, five minutes after he shot Oswald, that he used the Main St. ramp to enter the basement. Ruby then suggested to his attorney that perhaps he should stop lying and tell the truth about how he really entered the basement. The simple fact is that the first and the only person who said Ruby walked west on the Main St. and then entered and walked down the Main St. ramp was Sgt. Dean.

Later that afternoon Ruby refused to tell Capt. Fritz how he got into the basement. On November 25 Ruby refused to tell the FBI how he got into the basement. On December 1 and 3 he refused to tell DPD Lt. Revill how he got into the basement. For the next 10 days, while Sgt. Dean was spreading the word that Ruby entered the basement via the Main St. ramp, Jack Ruby was siting in jail and refused to tell anyone how he got into the basement. If Jack Ruby did not tell Dean that he came down the Main St. ramp, then Dean concocted this story, but why?  One possibility is that when Dean first saw this man (Ruby) standing near the railing on the lower 1/3 of the Main St. ramp, he may have honestly assumed that Ruby had walked down the ramp from Main St. A second possibility is that Dean may have made up this story to blame Roy Vaughn for letting Ruby into the basement, thereby keeping fellow police officers from blaming him for helping his good friend (Ruby) enter the basement. A third possibility is that Dean knew that Ruby entered the basement from the stairway, with help from other police officers. Either way, Sgt. Dean was likely not telling the truth and WC attorney Burt Griffin knew that he was not telling the truth.

After reading numerous reports of Ruby visiting police headquarters on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning, attorney’s Burt Griffin and Leon Hubert were convinced that Ruby had been stalking Oswald. They knew that Ruby’s presence at City Hall on Sunday morning was not coincidental, and they knew that Ruby somehow entered the basement for the purpose of killing Oswald.  After months of deposing witnesses and examining evidence Griffin and Hubert both believed that when Ruby left Western Union he entered the 1st floor of the Annex building thru a door on the east side of the building, walked down the stairs (fire escape), and then entered the basement parking area. When Griffin deposed Sgt. Dean on March 24, 1964 he seemed sure that Dean was lying about Ruby telling him that he entered the basement via the Main St. ramp. The overwhelming evidence was that Ruby did not enter and walk down the Main St. ramp. Griffin suspected that Ruby entered the basement parking area via the stairway adjacent to the elevators. He asked Dean for the names of the officers that Dean had assigned to guard the parking area. Dean told Griffin, “I assigned Officer R. E. Vaughn to the entrance ramp, which is entering on Main Street, Officer R. C. Nelson to the doorway coming from the police and court building and into the basement, Officer B. G. Patterson to the Commerce Street ramp, which is the exit, and I assigned one reserve officer to the southern portion of the basement, to the stairways that lead into the subbasement or the machine room. Griffin was waiting for Dean to identify the Officer assigned to watch the elevators and the stairway, but Dean was silent.

Mr. Griffin: Who checked the stairway door in the garage that leads up into the municipal building? (ANNEX)
Mr. Dean: The stairway door?
Mr. Griffin: Yes.
Mr. Dean: I don't know of any door that leads up into the--the stairway?
Mr. Griffin: There is a stairway…. over where the elevators are
Mr. Dean: Oh, Oh, yes
Mr. Griffin: Who checked that door?
Mr. Dean: Sergeant Putnam checked it once and I checked it once and it was locked.
Mr. Griffin: Did you know at the time you checked it that even though the door was locked from the outside, it could be opened from the inside?
Mr. Dean: [No response.]
Mr. Griffin: Now, where did you station Brock?
Mr. Dean: Put him in a position that he could see this door here and also these three elevators [indicating].

At 10:45 AM Officer Brock was removed and assigned to traffic detail by Sgt Putnam and/or Sgt. Dean. A few minutes later Officer Worley was removed from his post near the incline that lead to the ramp. Both men were assigned to traffic detail. There was now only one “unidentified “ reserve officer in the basement parking area near the door to the stairway (fire escape), but Sgt. Dean did not provide any of this information to Griffin.

Burt Griffin now had several good reason to doubt that Ruby told Dean he came down the ramp, because the overwhelming evidence was that Ruby did not enter and walk down the Main St. ramp. While questioning Dean on March 24, 1964, Griffin abruptly stopped and told the stenographer to take a break. Griffin confronted Dean, said that he didn’t believe him, and asked him to reconsider his testimony. Griffin expressed his doubts about what he felt were untrue answers given by Dean and suggested Dean may need an attorney. Griffin wrote a memo to J. L. Rankin, the WC chief counsel, explaining “I believe it likely Ruby came in by another entrance to a point where Dean could have stopped him and that Dean... is trying to conceal his dereliction of duty”. On May 15, 1964 both Griffin and Leon Hubert sent a memo to J. Lee Rankin with a list of areas that needed further investigation and a list of people they wanted to question.

Sgt. Dean complained about Griffin’s accusation to D.A. Wade, who then called President Lyndon Johnson at his ranch in Texas, and told him about the Dean/Griffin confrontation. Seth Kantor acknowledged that President Johnson began to exert pressure on Earl Warren.    Dallas Morning News reporter Earl Golz interviewed Dean concerning his dispute with Burt Griffin. Dean said, “”Henry Wade (Dallas District Attorney) called President Lyndon Johnson at his ranch and told him about this trouble I was having with Griffin. The next day it was on the front page about Griffin loading his butt on the airplane and going back to Washington.” Texas attorney general Waggoner Carr accompanied Dean to Washington DC when he met and shared his complaints with Earl Warren about Griffin’s behavior. Griffin was not allowed to confront Dean at the Warren-Dean meeting. The WC soon recalled Griffin from Dallas and the investigation of the Dallas Police stopped. Griffin had this to say: “I always thought all along about the Dallas police that anything that would get them into trouble or embarrass them, THEY WOULD LIE TO US ABOUT. NO question about it.”

NOTE: In March, 1964, Jack Ruby was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Oswald, but his conviction was overturned by a Texas Appellate Court. The Court found that Dean’s testimony should not have been admitted during the trial.

Roy Vaughn
Roy Vaughn, the officer assigned to guard the Main St. ramp, talked with Lt. Pierce three hours after Ruby shot Oswald. Vaughn was told that Ruby allegedly told Sgt. Dean that he entered the basement via the Main St. ramp. Vaughn, who had only two brief contacts with Ruby years earlier, insisted that Ruby never came down the ramp. Vaughn began his assignment at 9:30 AM and stood two to three feet inside the building and in the center of this narrow ramp (Main St.). Harry Tasker, a cab driver, was standing at the Main St. entrance entrance to the basement 5 minutes before Oswald was shot, but never saw anyone who resembled Ruby go down the ramp. UPI reporter Terrance McGarry was standing at the Main St. ramp 5 minutes before Oswald was shot, but didn’t see anyone resembling Ruby go down the ramp. At 11:18 AM, as Ruby was leaving the Western Union office, Lt. Rio Pierce, accompanied by Sgt. James Putnam and Sgt. Billy Joe Maxey drove an unmarked police car up the ramp and onto Main St. All of these officers knew Jack Ruby, and all said that nobody, including Ruby, came down the ramp as the car was moving up the ramp and onto Main St. Watch commander Sgt. Don Flusche was parked across the street and watched the unmarked police car drive onto Main St at 11:18 AM. Flusche knew Jack Ruby for years and said that Ruby did not walk down Main St., was not anywhere near the ramp, and did not go down the ramp. Detective W. J. Harrison watched the car driven by Lt. Pierce go up the ramp and said nobody came down the ramp.

Roy Vaughn realized, but could not understand, why Sgt. Dean was trying to make it appear as though he failed to properly guard the Main St. ramp. He knew that Ruby did not come down the Main St. ramp, but Dallas police officials were glad to hear that Ruby came down the ramp and that no Dallas Police Officers helped Ruby enter the basement. Vaughn was fighting a losing battle and with the majority of police officers believing that he came down the ramp, Vaughn was hopelessly outnumbered. Vaughn sought the assistance and counsel of a local attorney, James Niell, who suggested that Vaughn begin legal proceedings to try and clear his name. Vaughn was told by police Chief Byrd to make an appointment and visit with City Attorney Alex Bickley. During their brief meeting, Bickley asked Vaughn not to go to court because “the truth might come out about how Ruby got into the basement.” And the truth would likely show Ruby’s involvement with Dallas Police officers.
Billy Grammer
On November 24 Dallas police officer Billy Grammer was home and watching television as his friend, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Oswald. Grammer never forgot the memo he gave to Chief Curry concerning the phone call he received threatening Oswald’s life.  When Chief Curry failed to take this threat seriously, and quietly transfer Oswald to the county jail at night, Jack Ruby now had the opportunity to murder Oswald.

HSCA
Years later, in 1978, the HSCA asked Dean to answer questions in the form of written interrogatories, Dean declined. The HSCA concluded that Ruby's shooting of Oswald was not a spontaneous act, in that it involved at least some premeditation. Similarly, the committee believed it was less likely that Ruby entered the police basement without assistance. There is evidence that the Dallas Police Department withheld relevant information from the Warren Commission concerning Ruby's entry to the scene of the Oswald transfer. The HSCA concluded that because of Ruby’s perfect timing “it made it difficult to accept mere coincidence, and it is unlikely that Ruby entered the basement without some sort of assistance.” The committee was troubled by the apparently unlocked doors along the stairway route and the removal of security guards from the area of the garage nearest the stairway shortly before the shooting. The evidence indicated that Ruby did not come down the Main street ramp, but likely gained access to the basement by coming from the parking lot (alleyway), thru the entry door on the east side of the Annex building, and walking down the fire escape stairway to the basement.

[Jean Ceulemans]

Thanks David, that´s a lot of interesting stuff you posted, I only knew a part of the events.

[Denis Morissette]

As for the call to Dean from a guy from British Columbia in Canada, it turned out that they interviewed the guy who admitted he made up this story after getting drunk. 

[Kevin Balch]

If Tom Howard told Ruby to (falsely) say he came down the ramp, that is subornation of perjury and possibly for Joe Tonahill as well. What is the source of this statement?

An alternative explanation of Ruby’s good timing is that both radio and television were broadcasting that they were standing by for Oswald’s imminent transfer. Ruby certainly had a radio in his car, there might have been a radio or TV on in the Western Union office and it would have been obvious from the police guards on Commerce Street that Oswald had not yet been transferred.
 

I’m surprise a fire escape door could be locked at all.

 

Edited August 28 by Kevin Balch

[Joe Bauer]

On 8/27/2024 at 8:17 AM, David Josephs said:

 

 

 

 

 

In the photo above notice Jack Ruby is mere "inches" right behind Dallas police officer William "Blackie" Harrison - almost touching - just seconds before and right up to Ruby leaping out past Harrison to whack Oswald.

Harrison is the hulkingly big black haired and black suited man Ruby is hiding behind. Ruby does appear to be hiding himself and using Harrison's big body as a view blocking cover. No one in the Oswald security team could see or recognize him behind Big Blackie.

Harrison was one of the 25 DPD officers Chief Curry said even knew Jack Ruby. In Harrison's case he was one of the closer acquaintances in that group of 25.

Harrison knew Ruby well for years. He and his traffic patrol buds used to stop in Ruby's Silver Spur club and refresh themselves. Harrison actually stated this in his WC testimony.

 

"Mr. GRIFFIN. You do recognize Ruby by sight, do you not?
Mr. HARRISON. Yes.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Do you know Jack personally?
Mr. HARRISON. I knew him as a businessman as well by sight, and I have known him for 12 years, I guess, as a businessman.
Mr. GRIFFIN. How did you happen to meet Jack?
Mr. HARRISON. Well, I used to go into his place. I was a motorcycle officer, and we would go into these different places just checking, and he was running the Silver Spur, I think was the name of it.
Mr. GRIFFIN. What bureau were you assigned to at that time?
Mr. HARRISON. I was in the traffic bureau.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Is that motorcycle patrol?
Mr. HARRISON. Yes; motorcycle patrol.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Was that downtown only?
Mr. HARRISON. No. We rode all over the city.
Mr. GRIFFIN. What particular business did you have in there?
Mr. HARRISON. Oh, we went in, we went into several places,

>>>> maybe to get a cold drink <<<<

... checking maybe to see if there was some drunks in there, just regular, routine checks more or less.

Sorry, but the inches close physical juxtaposition of long time well acquainted Jack Ruby and Blackie Harrison, right up to Ruby's shooting leap, seems way too improbably coincidental imo.

Great security job of watching the press crowd there Blackie! One little turn by Harrison to his left in those last few seconds and he would have seen his old friend Jack Ruby right in his face.

And here is Harrison being a close up part of the highest suspect threat alert and most important security duty assignment in his entire life ...and he is holding and puffing away on his Muriel cigars right up to Oswald being just feet from him?

If I was Harrison's boss and saw him holding and puffing away on his cigars right at that time...I would have told him..."Hey...Blackie...no cigars until after the transfer, alright?" "If you have to jump into a situation those damn burning and smoking cigars might hamper you...got it?"

 

Edited August 29 by Joe Bauer

[Pete Mellor]

I have noticed that there were two Deans employed in the ranks of the DPD at the time of the assassination.

The other Dean was a William C. Dean, who was a patrol officer in South Dallas.  What is interesting about the William C. Dean and Sergeant Patrick Dean is that both were off duty on the 22nd., and both stated they were deer hunting.

Does anyone know if these two Deans were related?  Any info appreciated.

[Ron Bulman]

On 8/27/2024 at 10:17 AM, David Josephs said:

FWIW When John and I researched https://harveyandlee.net/Oswald_Killed/Oswald_Killed.html and how Oswald was brought to Ruby at the precise time he needed to, Sgt. Pat DEAN was involved/had knowledge of the removal of those guarding the parking area between the East elevators (closest to the Western Union Bldg) and where Oswald was brought out. As well as the prime source/confirmation Ruby came down the ramp.  Both provably false as shown in the linked article.

This is before and after Worley and Brock are replace by "an unidentified Reserve officer". CROY was a Reserve Officer who winds up standing next to Ruby just before he kills Oswald.

Mr. Griffin: Who checked the stairway door in the garage that leads up into the municipal building? (ANNEX)
Mr. Dean: The stairway door?
Mr. Griffin: Yes.
Mr. Dean: I don't know of any door that leads up into the--the stairway?
Mr. Griffin: There is a stairway…. over where the elevators are
Mr. Dean: Oh, Oh, yes
Mr. Griffin: Who checked that door?
Mr. Dean: Sergeant Putnam checked it once and I checked it once and it was locked.
Mr. Griffin: Did you know at the time you checked it that even though the door was locked from the outside, it could be opened from the inside?
Mr. Dean: [No response.]

 

 

 

 

Sgt. Patrick Dean and the Main St. ramp

Sgt. Patrick Dean, in charge of security for Oswald’s transfer, was likely the 3rd person to see Ruby in the basement. Dean was standing near the armored truck at the top of the Commerce St. ramp (see below). From this location Dean could see down the Commerce St. ramp and the area below that included the two police cars, dozens of people, TV cameras, and the lower incline to the parking area which was dimly lit and 75 to 100 feet distant. It is important to remember that from Dean’s location he was able to see only the lower portion of the Main St. ramp, but not the upper portion and entrance into the ramp. Burt Griffin deposed Dean on March 24, 1964.

 

Mr. Dean: I heard someone say, "Here he comes, they are bringing him out." Of course, you could hear voices, loud voices, or excitement, and then I saw a man just dart in--this was during all the confusion, before the shooting, but I do recall seeing a man dart out. I couldn't tell who he was. It was that fast [witness snaps fingers].
Mr. Griffin: Where did he seem to dart from?
Mr. Dean: From the rail over here. The side just dart out from a group of people that were standing against the rail facing the exit [indicating].
Mr. Griffin: All right. Can you mark there with an "X" and a circle around it, approximately where he was and how close he was to this railing? Do you think he was fight on ,the railing or [indicating]--
Mr. Dean: Well, the railing--you have a curb there and then I don't recall how wide that curb is, but the railing, you can lean against standing on the ramp itself [indicating].
Mr. Griffin: Yes; how far would you say he was from that railing?
Mr. Dean: I would say he was up against the railing.
Mr. Griffin: Now, is that the man that shot Oswald?
Mr. Dean: Yes, sir.
 

There are no known witnesses who recalled seeing this man (Ruby), or anyone, walk from the stairway to the railing in the dimly lit parking area. Sgt. Dean first noticed this man when he (Ruby) “darted in” from the lower portion of the Main St. ramp and shot Oswald. It was only after this man shot Oswald and was subdued by police officers that Dean learned he was Jack Ruby, a good friend of Dean's. 

Moments after Ruby shot Oswald and was subdued by police, he said, “You all know me. I’m Jack Ruby.” RUBY SAID, “YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS.” A few minutes later Sgt. Dean was interviewed on camera by the press. Five to ten minutes later Dean was on the 3rd floor of City Hall (police headquarters) and was told by Chief Curry to escort Secret Service agent Forrest Sorrels to the 5th floor (jail) to interview Jack Ruby. In his report to Chief Curry two days later, on November 26, Dean said that Ruby told him “in the presence of Mr. Sorrels that he (Ruby) had entered the basement through the ramp entering on Main Street.” Dean told the WC about their conversation. Ruby allegedly told Dean, "I walked in the Main Street ramp…I have just been to the Western Union to mail a money order to Fort Worth…. I walked from the Western Union to the ramp…. I saw Sam Pierce drive out of the basement. At that time, at the time the car drove out is when I walked in." Agent Sorrels, head of the Secret Service in Dallas, reported that Ruby “said no such thing.” Detectives Clardy, Archer, and McMillion were there with Dean when Ruby allegedly told Dean he walked down the Main St. Ramp, yet not one of these detectives said anything about the ramp in their initial reports concerning the murder of Oswald.

After the conversation between Sorrells and Ruby ended, Sgt. Dean said, “When I got back to the city hail, I contacted Lieutenant Pierce and advised him--that's when I talked to Pierce about my conversation with Ruby, and I told him that I had talked to Ruby and that he told me that--how he had gotten into the basement, which was breaking security, and that Officer R. E. Vaughn was the man involved….He (Pierce) notified the captain (Talbert) of this.” Two days later Dean submitted his written report to Chief Curry, and identified Ruby’s point of entry as the Main St. ramp (guarded by Roy Vaughn). Now Sgt. Dean could not change his story. Tom Howard was the first attorney to advise and counsel Ruby. Howard said. “Ruby’s hesitancy about discussing his entrance into the basement of City Hall was because he didn’t want to get a Dallas Police officer and friend in trouble.” But Howard said nothing about how Ruby entered the basement. During Ruby’s trial for murdering Oswald, in March, 1964, he wrote a note to his attorney, Joseph Tonahill, and said, "Joe, you should know this…. it was Tom Howard who told me to say that I had come in via the ramp.” If this is true, then Ruby did not tell Sgt. Dean, five minutes after he shot Oswald, that he used the Main St. ramp to enter the basement. Ruby then suggested to his attorney that perhaps he should stop lying and tell the truth about how he really entered the basement. The simple fact is that the first and the only person who said Ruby walked west on the Main St. and then entered and walked down the Main St. ramp was Sgt. Dean.

Later that afternoon Ruby refused to tell Capt. Fritz how he got into the basement. On November 25 Ruby refused to tell the FBI how he got into the basement. On December 1 and 3 he refused to tell DPD Lt. Revill how he got into the basement. For the next 10 days, while Sgt. Dean was spreading the word that Ruby entered the basement via the Main St. ramp, Jack Ruby was siting in jail and refused to tell anyone how he got into the basement. If Jack Ruby did not tell Dean that he came down the Main St. ramp, then Dean concocted this story, but why?  One possibility is that when Dean first saw this man (Ruby) standing near the railing on the lower 1/3 of the Main St. ramp, he may have honestly assumed that Ruby had walked down the ramp from Main St. A second possibility is that Dean may have made up this story to blame Roy Vaughn for letting Ruby into the basement, thereby keeping fellow police officers from blaming him for helping his good friend (Ruby) enter the basement. A third possibility is that Dean knew that Ruby entered the basement from the stairway, with help from other police officers. Either way, Sgt. Dean was likely not telling the truth and WC attorney Burt Griffin knew that he was not telling the truth.

After reading numerous reports of Ruby visiting police headquarters on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning, attorney’s Burt Griffin and Leon Hubert were convinced that Ruby had been stalking Oswald. They knew that Ruby’s presence at City Hall on Sunday morning was not coincidental, and they knew that Ruby somehow entered the basement for the purpose of killing Oswald.  After months of deposing witnesses and examining evidence Griffin and Hubert both believed that when Ruby left Western Union he entered the 1st floor of the Annex building thru a door on the east side of the building, walked down the stairs (fire escape), and then entered the basement parking area. When Griffin deposed Sgt. Dean on March 24, 1964 he seemed sure that Dean was lying about Ruby telling him that he entered the basement via the Main St. ramp. The overwhelming evidence was that Ruby did not enter and walk down the Main St. ramp. Griffin suspected that Ruby entered the basement parking area via the stairway adjacent to the elevators. He asked Dean for the names of the officers that Dean had assigned to guard the parking area. Dean told Griffin, “I assigned Officer R. E. Vaughn to the entrance ramp, which is entering on Main Street, Officer R. C. Nelson to the doorway coming from the police and court building and into the basement, Officer B. G. Patterson to the Commerce Street ramp, which is the exit, and I assigned one reserve officer to the southern portion of the basement, to the stairways that lead into the subbasement or the machine room. Griffin was waiting for Dean to identify the Officer assigned to watch the elevators and the stairway, but Dean was silent.

Mr. Griffin: Who checked the stairway door in the garage that leads up into the municipal building? (ANNEX)
Mr. Dean: The stairway door?
Mr. Griffin: Yes.
Mr. Dean: I don't know of any door that leads up into the--the stairway?
Mr. Griffin: There is a stairway…. over where the elevators are
Mr. Dean: Oh, Oh, yes
Mr. Griffin: Who checked that door?
Mr. Dean: Sergeant Putnam checked it once and I checked it once and it was locked.
Mr. Griffin: Did you know at the time you checked it that even though the door was locked from the outside, it could be opened from the inside?
Mr. Dean: [No response.]
Mr. Griffin: Now, where did you station Brock?
Mr. Dean: Put him in a position that he could see this door here and also these three elevators [indicating].

At 10:45 AM Officer Brock was removed and assigned to traffic detail by Sgt Putnam and/or Sgt. Dean. A few minutes later Officer Worley was removed from his post near the incline that lead to the ramp. Both men were assigned to traffic detail. There was now only one “unidentified “ reserve officer in the basement parking area near the door to the stairway (fire escape), but Sgt. Dean did not provide any of this information to Griffin.

Burt Griffin now had several good reason to doubt that Ruby told Dean he came down the ramp, because the overwhelming evidence was that Ruby did not enter and walk down the Main St. ramp. While questioning Dean on March 24, 1964, Griffin abruptly stopped and told the stenographer to take a break. Griffin confronted Dean, said that he didn’t believe him, and asked him to reconsider his testimony. Griffin expressed his doubts about what he felt were untrue answers given by Dean and suggested Dean may need an attorney. Griffin wrote a memo to J. L. Rankin, the WC chief counsel, explaining “I believe it likely Ruby came in by another entrance to a point where Dean could have stopped him and that Dean... is trying to conceal his dereliction of duty”. On May 15, 1964 both Griffin and Leon Hubert sent a memo to J. Lee Rankin with a list of areas that needed further investigation and a list of people they wanted to question.

Sgt. Dean complained about Griffin’s accusation to D.A. Wade, who then called President Lyndon Johnson at his ranch in Texas, and told him about the Dean/Griffin confrontation. Seth Kantor acknowledged that President Johnson began to exert pressure on Earl Warren.    Dallas Morning News reporter Earl Golz interviewed Dean concerning his dispute with Burt Griffin. Dean said, “”Henry Wade (Dallas District Attorney) called President Lyndon Johnson at his ranch and told him about this trouble I was having with Griffin. The next day it was on the front page about Griffin loading his butt on the airplane and going back to Washington.” Texas attorney general Waggoner Carr accompanied Dean to Washington DC when he met and shared his complaints with Earl Warren about Griffin’s behavior. Griffin was not allowed to confront Dean at the Warren-Dean meeting. The WC soon recalled Griffin from Dallas and the investigation of the Dallas Police stopped. Griffin had this to say: “I always thought all along about the Dallas police that anything that would get them into trouble or embarrass them, THEY WOULD LIE TO US ABOUT. NO question about it.”

NOTE: In March, 1964, Jack Ruby was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Oswald, but his conviction was overturned by a Texas Appellate Court. The Court found that Dean’s testimony should not have been admitted during the trial.

Roy Vaughn
Roy Vaughn, the officer assigned to guard the Main St. ramp, talked with Lt. Pierce three hours after Ruby shot Oswald. Vaughn was told that Ruby allegedly told Sgt. Dean that he entered the basement via the Main St. ramp. Vaughn, who had only two brief contacts with Ruby years earlier, insisted that Ruby never came down the ramp. Vaughn began his assignment at 9:30 AM and stood two to three feet inside the building and in the center of this narrow ramp (Main St.). Harry Tasker, a cab driver, was standing at the Main St. entrance entrance to the basement 5 minutes before Oswald was shot, but never saw anyone who resembled Ruby go down the ramp. UPI reporter Terrance McGarry was standing at the Main St. ramp 5 minutes before Oswald was shot, but didn’t see anyone resembling Ruby go down the ramp. At 11:18 AM, as Ruby was leaving the Western Union office, Lt. Rio Pierce, accompanied by Sgt. James Putnam and Sgt. Billy Joe Maxey drove an unmarked police car up the ramp and onto Main St. All of these officers knew Jack Ruby, and all said that nobody, including Ruby, came down the ramp as the car was moving up the ramp and onto Main St. Watch commander Sgt. Don Flusche was parked across the street and watched the unmarked police car drive onto Main St at 11:18 AM. Flusche knew Jack Ruby for years and said that Ruby did not walk down Main St., was not anywhere near the ramp, and did not go down the ramp. Detective W. J. Harrison watched the car driven by Lt. Pierce go up the ramp and said nobody came down the ramp.

Roy Vaughn realized, but could not understand, why Sgt. Dean was trying to make it appear as though he failed to properly guard the Main St. ramp. He knew that Ruby did not come down the Main St. ramp, but Dallas police officials were glad to hear that Ruby came down the ramp and that no Dallas Police Officers helped Ruby enter the basement. Vaughn was fighting a losing battle and with the majority of police officers believing that he came down the ramp, Vaughn was hopelessly outnumbered. Vaughn sought the assistance and counsel of a local attorney, James Niell, who suggested that Vaughn begin legal proceedings to try and clear his name. Vaughn was told by police Chief Byrd to make an appointment and visit with City Attorney Alex Bickley. During their brief meeting, Bickley asked Vaughn not to go to court because “the truth might come out about how Ruby got into the basement.” And the truth would likely show Ruby’s involvement with Dallas Police officers.
Billy Grammer
On November 24 Dallas police officer Billy Grammer was home and watching television as his friend, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Oswald. Grammer never forgot the memo he gave to Chief Curry concerning the phone call he received threatening Oswald’s life.  When Chief Curry failed to take this threat seriously, and quietly transfer Oswald to the county jail at night, Jack Ruby now had the opportunity to murder Oswald.

HSCA
Years later, in 1978, the HSCA asked Dean to answer questions in the form of written interrogatories, Dean declined. The HSCA concluded that Ruby's shooting of Oswald was not a spontaneous act, in that it involved at least some premeditation. Similarly, the committee believed it was less likely that Ruby entered the police basement without assistance. There is evidence that the Dallas Police Department withheld relevant information from the Warren Commission concerning Ruby's entry to the scene of the Oswald transfer. The HSCA concluded that because of Ruby’s perfect timing “it made it difficult to accept mere coincidence, and it is unlikely that Ruby entered the basement without some sort of assistance.” The committee was troubled by the apparently unlocked doors along the stairway route and the removal of security guards from the area of the garage nearest the stairway shortly before the shooting. The evidence indicated that Ruby did not come down the Main street ramp, but likely gained access to the basement by coming from the parking lot (alleyway), thru the entry door on the east side of the Annex building, and walking down the fire escape stairway to the basement.

Great post David.

[Ron Bulman]

If I understand it right Dean was contacted by the HSCA to respond to questions they sent to him in writing and he refused.  It seems they re-contacted him and he agreed to being interviewed in his home.  Which is where the above comes from.

It gets weird towards the end.  He says something about being told by someone (?) that the FBI or CIA wanted him out of the way (?).  Then mentions a hitman.  10/28/1972 he's found in his wrecked car "under a piece of road machinery."  Someone drugged me, no idea how the accident happened.