Doesn't seem like they got the "hell from up there" in any big hurry.\:
Mr. McCLOY. Have you got any appreciation of the time that elapsed between your hearing the first shot and the time that you got finally down to the first floor, after you had been on the fifth floor and the fourth floor?
Mr. WILLIAMS. No, sir; I could not give you any time.
Mr. McCLOY. Well, you did not give us any time. Do you have any recollection now of about how long that was? Was it 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes? How long did it take from the time that you were looking out that window and you heard that shot until you did get down to the first floor?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Well, I could say approximately 15 minutes, maybe a little before then, maybe after. I could not say exactly.
Resorting to just one quote to make a point is a fools errand.
From Harold Norman's 12/4/1963 Affidavit;
We discussed the shots, and where they had come from and decided we better go down stairs. We walked down the stairs to the first floor and did not see anyone else on the stairway as we went down.
From the time of the shots until we started down-stairs was about five minutes.I have read over the above statement and it is the truth to the best of my knowledge.
From Harold Norman's WC testimony;
The CHAIRMAN. Did you see Brennan down there when you came downstairs? Did you come out the front door?
Mr. NORMAN.
Yes, sir; I came out the front door and I remember seeing Mr. Brennan. Mr. BELIN. About how long after the shooting was that?
Mr. NORMAN. It wasn't very long because--I can't remember the time but it wasn't too long a period of time, and I remember seeing him because he had on a steel helmet, a little steel helmet.
Representative FORD. Was he standing with another man and they called you over?
Mr. NORMAN. I don't know if he was exactly standing with another man, but it was several people standing around there, and I remember him talking and I believe I remember him saying that he saw us when we first went up to the fifth floor window, he saw us then. I believe I heard him say that, but otherwise I don't know if he was standing by. There was quite a few people standing around there.
Representative FORD. You were stopped and Mr. Brennan made these comments?
Mr. NORMAN. Yes, sir; I remember.
Representative FORD. On the front entrance steps?
Mr. NORMAN. Yes, sir.
Representative FORD. Of the Depository Building?
Mr. NORMAN. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Then did you go out of the building, away from the building or come back?
Mr. NORMAN. No, sir; we had to go back inside.
From James Jarman WC testimony;
The CHAIRMAN - Now, tell me, when you went downstairs--when you were downstairs and went out the first time, that is, just before you met Brennan, did anyone stop you as you went out the building?
Mr. JARMAN - No, sir.
The CHAIRMAN - You could have gone right away if you wanted to, could you?
Mr. JARMAN - Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN -
And then you happened to run across Brennan, and had this conversation with him?
Mr. JARMAN - No. He ran up to the police officer and was telling him about the man sticking a gun out the window. And I heard him telling the officer that. And I told him that I thought the shots came from inside, too.
Jarman sees Brennan run up to the police officer. That's who Brennan ran up to before Inspector Sawyer arrived at the scene and before Brennan sees Jarman and Norman.
From Howard Brennan's WC testimony;
Mr. McCLOY. How long did it take you, do you think, from the time of the--when you first got up-- from the time of the last shot, how long would you estimate it would be before you got to the steps of the Texas Book Depository?
Mr. BRENNAN. I could not calculate that, because before I got to the steps of the Texas Book Store, I had already talked to this officer, and he had taken me to the Secret Service men, I had talked to them.
Mr. McCLOY. And you stayed behind the retaining wall for a little while until you saw the coast was clear?
Mr. BRENNAN. Just seconds. I would say from the time the last shot was fired, and me diving off the wall there, and getting around on the solid side, and then running across to the officer, the time element is hard to figure, but it would still be in seconds.
Mr. McCLOY. Then when you got to the officer he took you to a Secret Service man, and then the Secret Service man and you were on the steps of the depository?
Mr. BRENNAN. Yes.
Well, we talked at the car, and then when these two colored guys came down the stairway onto the street, I pointed to them, and identified them as being the two that was in the floor below that floor. And then Mr. Sorrels, I think, had to give some orders to someone in the book store. He walked me up the steps, and I stood on the top landing.
Mr. McCLOY. When you were standing on those steps, did you see anyone pass you, or anyone that you could recognize as being--as looking somewhat like the man that you had seen in the window with the rifle?
Mr. BRENNAN. No, I did not.
Mr. DULLES. Did you give any estimate was it a matter of 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes? In general, how long did it take you from the time that you left where you were protecting yourself to the time you were on the front steps? What order of magnitude? 10 minutes?
Mr. BRENNAN. No; it was a shorter time than that.
I talked to Mr. Sorrels--I believe it was Mr. Sorrels--and the Secret Service men there I don't believe I talked to them more than 3 to 5 minutes.
Mr. McCLOY. But you had prior to that time talked to the police officer?
Mr. BRENNAN. Yes.
Mr. McCLOY. You said the police officer said, "Wait a minute."
Mr. BRENNAN. Yes.
Mr. McCLOY. How long was that?
Mr. BRENNAN. That was quick, too. He gave his orders to some one on that side of the building, and then he had taken me to the Secret Service man.
Inspector Sawyer (Brennan confused Sorrels for Sawyer) was parked in front of the TSBD when Brennan saw Jarman and Norman coming down the front steps of the TSBD to the street. Sawyer estimates that he gave instructions for the TSBD to be sealed off sometime after 12:37 in the presence of Brennan. Soon thereafter sawyer sets up a command post across the street at the Sheriff's Office to take witness statements and Brennan is sent there by the DPD cop. By 12:45 Brennan's description goes out as an APB and is transcribed in the radio log. BRW time estimate of 15 minutes is way off as can be seen by the statements of Norman, Jarman, Brennan, and Sawyer (see Sawyer's WC testimony).