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Color photograph of Oswald under arrest at the Texas Theatre
Color photograph of Oswald under arrest at the Texas Theatre

Color photograph of Oswald under arrest at the Texas Theatre

Object number2004.037.0043
Date11/22/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer Jim MacCammon
ObjectPhotograph (color)
Credit LineJim MacCammon, photographer, Lyndal L. Shaneyfelt Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)
Collections
DescriptionColor photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald being taken out of the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff after he was arrested by members of the Dallas Police Department for the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit. The picture was taken by photographer Jim MacCammon. The man in the white hat is Patrolman C.T. Walker. Detective Paul Bentley, with the cigar, holds Oswald on the other side. Detective Jerry Hill is on the far right side of the image. This copy of this photograph was part of FBI Special Agent Lyndal Shaneyfelt's Kennedy assassination file; Shaneyfelt assisted in the FBI investigations of the assassination conducted on behalf of the Warren Commission in 1964. This image is not available online larger than a thumbnail to protect the copyright of its creator(s). For a more detailed examination of this item, please schedule an appointment in the Museum’s Reading Room.
Curatorial Commentary

The Museum's late curator Gary Mack wrote about this photograph for Time magazine at the time of the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination in November 2013.  In the article, Mack describes Oswald's behavior during his arrest in the moments before this image was taken.  That article may be found here:  http://time.com/3804560/an-end-to-conspiracy-rare-photo-of-lee-harvey-oswalds-arrest-suggests-why-hes-guilty/ - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections

 

Detective Paul Bentley, chief polygraph examiner at the Dallas Police Department in 1963, recorded two oral histories with the Museum in 1994 and 2008. A little over two months before his death on July 21, 2008, he participated in an educational program at the Museum (May 16, 2008), which may be viewed in full on the Museum's YouTube channel: Living History with Paul Bentley - YouTube.  Detective Gerald "Jerry" Hill recorded an oral history in 1993. He passed away in 2011. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator