Image of Dallas Police Lieutenant J.C. "Carl" Day pointing to the rifle location

When sharing this photograph with school groups during education programs about assassination evidence, students are often shocked to learn that this image was taken by a newspaper photographer rather than a crime scene investigator. It demonstrates the persistent presence of news media on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository while evidence was still being gathered. In addition to William Allen of the Dallas Times Herald, local WFAA-TV photographer Tom Alyea had unrestricted access on the sixth floor and took 16mm film of investigators climbing on boxes looking for evidence, examining the sniper's perch and even Lt. Carl Day (seen in this photo) dusting the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle for prints. (Eager for WFAA to have exclusive film of the crime scene, Alyea even tossed reels of film out a Depository window or doorway to a waiting employee to race it back to the TV station.) While this film and photography is historically significant, some have questioned why members of the media were allowed to wander around unescorted, photographing an active crime scene. It has contribued to accusations that the crime scene was contaminated, and any evidence recovered that day is subject to criticism. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator