Jefferson Davis Tippit Biography

Four bullets were recovered from Tippit's body and examined by firearms specialists during the investigation.

Firearms examination established that cartridge cases recovered near the Tippit crime scene had been fired from the revolver in Oswald's possession when arrested.

The firearms evidence led the Warren Commission to conclude that five shots may have been fired even though four bullets were recovered from Tippit's body.

Patrolman J. D. Tippit was assigned to patrol district 78 in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas during the daylight shift.

Investigators traced the revolver seized from Oswald at the Texas Theatre and established that it had been purchased by and belonged to him.

Tippit patrolled alone in Dallas police car number 10, consistent with normal daytime assignments in residential districts.

Tippit could hear the police-radio description of the assassination suspect, broadcast as a slender white male about 30 years old, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall.

After Tippit's 12:54 p.m. location report, the dispatcher instructed him to remain available for any emergency arising in central Oak Cliff.

Barbara Jeanette Davis heard the gunfire and saw an armed man cross the lawn beside her residence while apparently emptying cartridge cases from his revolver.

Witnesses recovered cartridge cases discarded near the Tippit crime scene and turned them over to Dallas police officers.

At 12:45 p.m., the police dispatcher specifically ordered Tippit's unit to move into the central Oak Cliff area.

Police recovered a light-colored zipper jacket beneath a car near Jefferson Boulevard along the route attributed to the gunman fleeing Tippit's shooting.

Domingo Benavides saw Tippit beside his patrol car, heard the shots, and watched the gunman discard cartridge cases while leaving the scene.

At about 12:44 p.m., Dallas police radio ordered downtown patrol units to report to Elm and Houston under emergency conditions after President Kennedy was shot.

At approximately 1:15 p.m., Tippit was driving slowly east along East 10th Street in Oak Cliff.

Tippit opened the driver's door and began walking around the front of his patrol car after speaking with the pedestrian.

Multiple witnesses to the shooting or the gunman's flight identified Oswald in Dallas police lineups conducted after his arrest.

Four bullets struck Tippit during the shooting on East 10th Street, killing him at the scene.

At approximately 1:22 p.m., Dallas police broadcast a description of the man wanted for Tippit's murder based on information from witnesses.

Helen Markham witnessed the encounter between Tippit and the gunman, saw the officer fall after the shots, and ran to Tippit's side.

Witness accounts placed the gunman moving westward along Jefferson Boulevard after leaving the area where Tippit had been shot.

At 12:54 p.m., Tippit radioed that he was in central Oak Cliff at Lancaster Road and Eighth Street.

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested in the Texas Theatre shortly after police began searching the area for the man suspected of killing Tippit.

At 7:10 p.m. on November 22, Dallas police formally advised Oswald that he had been charged with murdering Patrolman J. D. Tippit.

The pedestrian approached the right side of Tippit's patrol car and apparently exchanged words with him through the front or vent window.

Witnesses saw the gunman leave the Tippit shooting scene and move south along Patton Avenue toward Jefferson Boulevard.

About 100 feet east of Patton Avenue, Tippit stopped beside a man walking east whose general appearance resembled the police-radio description.

Benavides used Tippit's police radio to report the shooting to Dallas police headquarters at approximately 1:16 p.m.

Dallas police repeated the assassination suspect description over the radio at 12:48 p.m. while Tippit was moving through Oak Cliff.

As Tippit reached the left front wheel of his patrol car, the gunman drew a revolver and fired several shots at him.

Used-car salesman Ted Callaway heard the shooting and saw the armed gunman pass nearby while fleeing toward Jefferson Boulevard.

Police searching for Tippit's killer converged on the Texas Theatre after receiving information that a suspicious man had entered without buying a ticket.

The assassination suspect description was broadcast again at about 12:55 p.m. while Tippit remained on patrol in central Oak Cliff.

When Benavides reached Tippit after the shooting, the officer was lying on his own revolver, which was out of its holster.

Virginia Davis heard the shots and saw the armed man cross the lawn near 10th and Patton while leaving the area.

Taxi driver William Scoggins heard the shots, saw Tippit fall, and then observed the armed gunman pass close to his cab while fleeing.

As he reached the front wheel on the drivers side, Oswald drew a revolver and fired several shots in rapid succession, hitting Tippit three times in the chest. then walked up to Tippits body and shot him directly in the head, killing him instantly

At 12:45 p.m., 15 minutes after the assassination, Tippit received an order by radio to proceed to the central Oak Cliff area as part of a concentration of patrol car activity around the centre of the city.

At 1:11-1:14 p.m.Tippit was driving slowly in an easterly direction on East 10th Street in Oak Cliff. About 100 feet (30 m) past the intersection of 10th Street and Patton Avenue, Tippit pulled up alongside Oswald, who was walking in the same direction.

Police officer with the Dallas, Texas Police Department who, according to witnesses and Government investigations including the Warren Commission, was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald after Tippit stopped Oswald following the Kennedy assassination.

William Scoggins viewed a police lineup on November 23 and identified Oswald as the man he had seen near the Tippit shooting.

The Warren Commission reported that it found no credible evidence that Oswald and Tippit knew each other before their encounter on November 22.

The Warren Commission reported that it found no credible evidence that Jack Ruby and Tippit knew each other before the assassination.

After reviewing eyewitness and physical evidence, the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Dallas Patrolman J. D. Tippit.

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor from the National Police Hall of Fame and also received the Police Medal of Honor, the Police Cross, and the Citizens Traffic Commission Award of Heroism

One of the largest individual gifts to the Tippit family is the $25,000 ($152,000 in 2006) that Abraham Zapruder donated after selling his film of the assassination