My Re-Evaluation of Johnny Brewer’s Initial Report of December 6, 1963

[Jerry Freeman]

What is the CTers alternative explanation for Brewer's behavior?  That he was lying or somehow involved in the conspiracy to frame Oswald?   

[Richard Smith]

Very informative as always.  I can understand though why you don't want to answer.

[John Tonkovich]

Why is Brewer making his statement two weeks after the assassination?

And Postal - December 4th -  12 days after the event?

We have statements from the bus driver and the cab driver by Nov 23rd.

And, as pointed out, the Postal and Brewer affadavits do not match up.

[Joe Elliott]

JOHNNY BREWER AND THE SHOOTING OF J.D. TIPPIT....

http://jfk-archives.blogspot.com/2019/04/jfk-assassination-arguments-part-1317.html

Well, as usual, David was able to shine some light on the situation. But it is still a little murky to me.

The Dictabelt recording show the police discussing NBC reporting the shooting of a police officer at 1:27 and 1:28. So I would assume that the local NBC radio station had reported this by this time.

But can we confirm this? Do we have a recording of the local NBC Dallas area radio station?


First, which was the local NBC Dallas area radio station? The following website:

http://www.dfwradioarchives.info/1960s.htm

shows that all through 1960 through 1965, the frequency of the local Dallas NBC radio station was 820 AM. And the frequency of the local ABC radio station was 570 AM. Now, what muddles things up is that but WBAP and WFAA would alternate using the 820 AM and the 570 AM frequencies, as explained here:

https://flashbackdallas.com/2014/06/15/wfaa-and-wbaps-unusual-broadcasting-alliance/

That is, during certain times of the day WFAA would broadcast on 820 AM (NBC) while WBAP would broadcast on 570 AM (ABC). Then they would reverse during other hours, WBAP on 820 AM (NBC) and WFAA on 570 AM (ABC). So sometimes WBAP would be broadcast on the ABC frequency and at other times on the NBC frequency. And WFAA would be doing the opposite.

So, what we need are the complete broadcast of both WBAP and WFAA during 1:10 through 1:40, to confirm or refute such a broadcast ever took place. Or, more simply, just a complete broadcast of the 820 AM frequency, which was only used by NBC, at certain times of the day called WBAP, and at others WFAA.

In other words, we are not looking for the WBAP or the WFAA broadcast, but for the broadcast on the 820 AM frequency, since this was always the NBC broadcast. Whether at the moment it is calling itself WBAP or WFAA. While the broadcast on the 570 AM frequency was always ABC.


None of the radio broadcasts that users here have posted answer that question:

The JFK Assassination: As It Happened     NBC     NBC News Special
Is clearly not the local NBC station, but the national station in New York. It gives its time for the Eastern Time Zone, not the Central Time Zone.

KLIF does record over the time period, but it was not the local Dallas NBC station.

The KBOX recording starts too late and is not the local Dallas NBC station.

The WBAP recording starts on time and might be the NBC broadcast, but might also be the ABC broadcast. Except we know it is the ABC broadcast, because within the first minute, the first thing the announcer says is that this is 570 AM Radio for Fort Worth/Dallas, . . .WBAP and ABC. Clearly this is the local ABC broadcast on frequency 570 AM, not the local NBC broadcast on frequency 820 AM.


So, we have no proof that a local Dallas radio station did or did not report this before 1:35. But we do have the Dictabelt recording showing two officers discussing such a broadcast. So, unless we ever find radio recordings on frequency 820 AM during this time that shows this did not happen, we must conclude that such a broadcast did happen. We have evidence that it did and no evidence that it did not.



Do we have any reliable information on what station Johnny Brewer was listening to? If so, that might make it irrelevant what the local NBC radio station broadcast. Well, the best information we have is an interview of Mr. Brewer that was conducted 33 years later:

ILG: I know this is a crazy question but is there any way of recalling which programme, which station, you were listening to?

JCB: A Dallas station.  I have a feeling it may have been KLIF. That would be one of the stations that I would ordinarily be listening to, but I honestly don't know. It was just the normal run of the motorcade and all of a sudden you hear all the commotion and then you hear something about shots being fired and then -- you know.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=16235#relPageId=9&tab=page

I would like to point out the possibility that Mr. Brewer may have usually listened to a popular local music station, like KLIF. But for following the news about the motorcade for that day, he might have opted for a local news station, possibly NBC on 820 AM.


CTers claims that these statements clearly show that Mr. Brewer was definitely listening to KLIF, and show he could not have heard the announcement. And since he was wrong about hearing the announcement, he must have either been mistaken or lying, and we must assume lying.

There are a few points I wish to make:

1.   Mr. Brewer’s statement about listening to KLIF were 33 years old. And were part of the same interview where he also recalls two IBM employees who, on a work day, were lounging around the shoe store with him, killing time, and were with him all during this time, up until Oswald showed up. In contrast, his statement that he heard over the radio that a policeman had been shot was taken just 2 weeks after the assassination. Why should the 33-year-old memory be considered more reliable than the 2-week-old statement? /

2.   Even in the 33-year-old statement, Mr. Brewer does not claim he was definitely listening to KLIF. He says he can’t remember, but it might have been KLIF.

3.   CTers want to cherry pick which of the statements Mr. Brewer made over the years are reliable and which are not. The 33-year-old memory of him maybe listening to KLIF is to be considered an absolutely reliable memory, except that Mr. Brewer thought he might have been listening to KLIF where we must assume, he was definitely listening to KLIF. Otherwise, this is an absolutely reliable memory. And since this ‘absolutely reliable’ tentative and 33-year-old memory contradicts the 2-week old statement, we must conclude that the 2-week old statement is either a mistake or a lie. And we must conclude it was a lie. Therefore, Mr. Brewer was lying beyond all possible doubt.


And finally, to clarify, I am not stating the Mr. Brewer was definitely listening to NBC on 820 AM radio. And that this broadcast most definitely carried the news that a police officer was shot at least as early as 1:28 CST. I am just stating that CTers claims that this could not have happened are false. We definitely don’t know if Mr. Brewer’s statement is a lie, or even false.

[Jerry Freeman]

Well, as usual, David was able to shine some light on the situation.

Really?

But it is still a little murky to me.

Sounds like a contradiction.

The Dictabelt recording show the police discussing NBC reporting the shooting of a police officer at 1:27 and 1:28. So I would assume that the local NBC radio station had reported this by this time.

Time to re-reevaluate there because that is not true....

On 2.         
     75 (Ptm. E.G. Sabastian)    75.         
     Dispatcher    75.         
     75    NBC News is reporting DOA.         
     Dispatcher    That's correct.         
     75 (?)    That the officer?         
     Dispatcher    Yes.         
     87 (?) (Ptm. R.C. Nelson)    87.         
     75    . . . on the President?         
     Dispatcher    No, that's not correct, 19.         
          What officer was it?         
     Dispatcher    J.D. Tippit.         
     87 (Ptm. R.C. Nelson)    87.         
     Dispatcher    87.

https://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/dpdtapes/tapes3.htm

There is absolutely no indication there of an NBC report that a cop was shot. Even patrol units thought that this was about the president.

But can we confirm this? Do we have a recording of the local NBC Dallas area radio station?

See Reply #14 ..how many times must it be linked? Stop chasing your tail. Next you guys will be claiming that Brewer must have been listening to the police channel and he just forgot.

[Joe Elliott]

Really?Sounds like a contradiction. Time to re-reevaluate there because that is not true....https://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/dpdtapes/tapes3.htm

There is absolutely no indication there of an NBC report that a cop was shot. Even patrol units thought that this was about the president

E. G. Sabastian asked about the police officer. Only R. C. Nelson asked if the message was about the President, hoping that it wasn’t about a fellow officer. And I imagine R. C. Nelson’s questions were prompted about the exchange he just heard between E. G. Sabastian and the dispatcher.

And the police confusing an NBC announcement about the President with the police officer is unlikely because the death reported by the media was a ‘DOA’. ‘Dead On Arrival’. President Kennedy was not DOA nor every reported by the media as DOA. He still have a weak heartbeat and breathing and the doctors worked on him for 10 minutes. Only Officer Tippit was DOA.

Clearly E. G. Sabastian thought he had just heard NBC announce that a police officer was DOA. Was he somehow mistaken? Only a recording of the broadcast by NBC on frequency 820 AM, continuous broadcast over 1:10 through 1:40, can answer that question. Until this is done, we must assume that he did.

See Reply #14 ..how many times must it be linked?

Once. Once will do. But you nor anyone else has done so. Your ‘Reply #14’ refers to the WBAP broadcast on frequency 570 AM, the ABC radio station. We need the broadcast on frequency 820 AM, the NBC radio station. Which no one has provided.

E. G. Sabastian specifically referred to a bulletin from NBC News. So, a recording by KBOX, KLIV or WBAP over 570 AM which is ABC, or even NBC in New York will not do. We need the local NBC recording.

[Joe Elliott]

Really?Sounds like a contradiction. Time to re-reevaluate there because that is not true....https://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/dpdtapes/tapes3.htm

There is absolutely no indication there of an NBC report that a cop was shot. Even patrol units thought that this was about the president

E. G. Sabastian asked about the police officer. Only R. C. Nelson asked if the message was about the President, hoping that it wasn’t about a fellow officer. And I imagine R. C. Nelson’s questions were prompted about the exchange he just heard between E. G. Sabastian and the dispatcher.

And the police confusing an NBC announcement about the President with the police officer is unlikely because the death reported by the media was a ‘DOA’. ‘Dead On Arrival’. President Kennedy was not DOA nor every reported by the media as DOA. He still had a weak heartbeat and weak breathing and the doctors worked on him for 10 minutes. Only Officer Tippit was DOA.

Clearly E. G. Sabastian thought he had just heard NBC announce that a police officer was DOA. Was he somehow mistaken? Only a recording of the broadcast by NBC on frequency 820 AM, continuous broadcast over 1:10 through 1:40, can answer that question. Until this is done, we must assume that he did.

See Reply #14 ..how many times must it be linked?

Once. Once will do. But you nor anyone else has done so. Your ‘Reply #14’ refers to the WBAP broadcast on frequency 570 AM, the ABC radio station. We need the broadcast on frequency 820 AM, the NBC radio station. Which no one has provided.

E. G. Sabastian specifically referred to a bulletin from NBC News. So, a recording by KBOX, KLIV or WBAP over 570 AM which is ABC, or even NBC in New York will not do. We need the local NBC recording.

To summarize, what the CTers want:

•   We need the local NBC broadcast on frequency 820 AM, from 1:10 to 1:40 (to allow for time misestimates) before we can conclude that Mr. Brewer’s memory of hearing such a broadcast must be false. We need to prove that both Officer E. G. Sabastian and Mr. Brewer somehow got confused about hearing such a broadcast.
•   Upon proving Mr. Brewer’s false statement was a lie, we need to prove that it was not an honest mistake, like the one Officer E. G. Sabastian allegedly made, but a lie. This can never be proved. And there is no motive for making such a lie.

Right now, we need to make a couple of big and unwarranted leaps of faith before we can conclude that Mr. Brewer was lying about anything and so we have an excuse for ignoring everything he said that implicates Oswald, which is all the CTers are looking for.

[Jerry Freeman]

E. G. Sabastian asked about the police officer. Only R. C. Nelson asked if the message was about the President, hoping that it wasn’t about a fellow officer. 

How do you know what a cop was "hoping"?

President Kennedy was not DOA

So? How many people really knew that at that time?
 

Clearly E. G. Sabastian thought he had just heard NBC announce that a police officer was DOA. Was he somehow mistaken? Only a recording of the broadcast by NBC on frequency 820 AM, continuous broadcast over 1:10 through 1:40, can answer that question. Until this is done, we must assume that he did.

How do you know that the reference was to NBC 820 AM radio? TV was the main media at the time. Why must "we assume" there was an 820 broadcast? At 1:30 all ears were glued to what was the fate of the president. What you are doing is basically stating that--- [using 1:15 as the time of the shooting] ---in less than 12 minutes!...some news report states the cop "DOA"! Now how was that humanly possible?

To summarize, what the CTers want: We need the local NBC broadcast on frequency 820 AM

You are a "CT" ? OK, But I am not. I am a skeptic. How do you know there was even a broadcast on 820?
As you mention ...there was a time share involved with the AM broadcasts--

The station then moved to Fort Worth after being purchased by Amon Carter, getting the new call sign WFAA. (In the early days of radio, stations in Texas were given call letters beginning with a "W."). WFAA and WBAP had a shared time agreement that lasted until May 1, 1970, when WFAA operated on 570 alone and WBAP became the sole operator on 820.

So the request may just be for some broadcast that didn't exist.  The NBC broadcasting was given in replies #14 and the New York feed #18. You yourself posted the NBC TV feed. Why not just listen to them? If you hear about the policeman being shot please point out the section.