Officer J.D. Tippit
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On November 22, 1963, at this intersection, Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit was murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald, 45 minutes after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza. After the assassination, Oswald fled to his rooming house in Oak Cliff, in a neighborhood where Officer Tippit was assigned. While on patrol and traveling east on 10th St., having just crossed Patton St., Tippit stopped Oswald, who was walking on the sidewalk. After a brief conversation with him though the passenger window, Tippit exited his police car, at which time Oswald fired three shots across the hood, striking Tippit as he pulled his gun. Oswald then came around the rear of the car and fired a fourth shot. Oswald left the area. Temple Bowley, a citizen, stopped and used Tippit's radio to call for help. Officer Tippit was taken to Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Oswald appeared at Hardy's Shoe Store shortly after manager Johnny C. Brewer heard a radio broadcast that a police officer had been shot and killed nearby. Brewer followed Oswald to the Texas Theater, where employee Julia Postal called police due to Brewer's suspicion. There, Oswald attempted to shoot arresting officer M.N. McDonald. Tippit, who left behind a wife and three children, is buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park. In 1964, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor from the National Police Hall of Fame, the Police Medal of Honor, the Police Cross, and the Citizens Traffic Commission Award of Heroism. Although the intersection of 10th and Patton streets has changed, Officer Tippit's actions and subsquent murder at this site are remembered for setting into motion a series of events that led directly to Oswald's arrest. (2012)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On November 22, 1963, less than an hour after President Kennedy was assassinated at Dealey Plaza, Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit stopped a man walking through his Oak Cliff patrol area and was shot dead at this intersection by Lee Harvey Oswald. A citizen used Tippit's own radio to call for help, and the manhunt that followed led witnesses to trail Oswald into the nearby Texas Theatre, where he was arrested. Tippit, who left a wife and three children, was posthumously honored for valor and is remembered for the events his death set in motion.
Why it matters
Officer Tippit's murder is a pivotal thread in the story of the Kennedy assassination, the moment that led directly to Oswald's capture and became part of one of the most scrutinized days in American history.
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Related people
- · J.D. Tippit
- · Lee Harvey Oswald
Related events
- · Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
Themes & tags
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