DPD Tapes and a 6 Minute Discrepancy

[Dan O'meara]

In another thread concerning the shooting of J D Tippit I’ve had to deal with a 6 minute discrepancy between “real time“ and the time being called out on the tapes. It wasn’t something I readily accepted and have examined the tapes for such a discrepancy.
I start with this quote by James C. Bowles, the DPD Communications Supervisor at the time:

“There is no way to connect "police time" with "real time."

This may be true on a second-to-second basis but it is most certainly not true on a minute-to-minute basis, as I will demonstrate.



The above picture is taken seconds after the assassination. The hertz clock can be clearly seen showing 12:30.
In his WC testimony, SA Greer states that in the immediate aftermath of the shooting SA Kellerman stated the time as 12:30
In his WC testimony Dave Powers confirms it was 12:30

Here we have three (I’m sure there are more) independent sources confirming the time of the assassination was 12:30 PM. Arguments about coincidence can be filed under “Tinfoil”.
Three independent sources agree that “real time” was 12:30 PM

When we look at the DPD tape transcripts we see that the very first call after the 12:30 time call is Chief Curry stating:

“Go to the hospital - Parkland Hospital. Have them stand by.”

This is clearly a reference to the assassination.
Without doubt, this example confirms that “real time” can, indeed, be connected to “police time”. Channel 1 and Channel 2 cannot hear each other and are only connected by the Dispatcher. Once it has been established that “real time” and “police time” are in synch, it must now be established that Channel 1 and Channel 2 are in synch and this can only really be done by examining how the Dispatcher interacts with each channel.

This happens around 12:35 when Captain Souther orders - “have 283 cut the traffic at Hines and Industrial” on Channel 2. He immediately switches to Channel 1 and gives the same order.
Another clear example of such synchronisation between channels occurs at 12:45 PM. The Dispatcher broadcasts an almost identical message on each channel concerning a description of the potential assailant.
At this point (12:45 PM) I believe that the channels are synched with each other and with “real time” yet, within half an hour, there is supposed to be a 6 minute discrepancy. I didn’t believe such a discrepancy could occur gradually so looked for something more “catastrophic” in the transcripts...and found it.

At 12:54 PM Patrolman Chism asks for “a squad go to Community Blood Bank and pick up some blood and bring to Parkland, Code 3”. This is clearly a priority message. The Dispatcher asks if the Blood Bank has been notified and Chism confirms they have.
When we look to Channel 1 we should see the Dispatcher asking a squad to get to the Blood Bank, “Code 3” [sirens and lights]. Instead we see the Dispatcher having a joke with J D Tippit, asking him if he will be available for any emergency to which Tippit dryly answers “10-4”. It is Tippit’s last known message and it is quite well known this interaction is an in-joke between Tippit and Murray, the Dispatcher.
In fact, the request for a squad doesn’t occur for approximately 5 - 8 minutes:

Dispatcher - Code 3, the blood bank, 2000 Commerce. Take to Parkland

This message occurs in between the time calls 12:55 PM and 1:03 PM. It occurs a lot closer to the 1:03 time call and the gap of 5 - 8 minutes is given as an estimate.

Immediately after the “Blood Bank” message on Channel 2, Captain Souther, a senior officer, asks for the condition of JFK and whether Governor Connally has been hit. Again, this message is just after 12:54 PM. The response from the Dispatcher - “Have information that the governor was hit” - doesn’t come until 1:03 PM.
There is a nine minute section of radio silence on Channel 2 between this question and answer. There is something clearly wrong. So I looked for something that might account for this sudden, large discrepancy and noticed that on Channel 1, a few minutes before the Dispatcher calls for a squad to get to the Blood Bank, it states the “Tape spliced and duplicated at this point".
There is a similar splice just after 1:12 PM on Channel 1. I believe these splices have something to do with the large time discrepancy that occurs in the tapes. I’m hoping this thread will get to the bottom of it.
 
LATER EDIT =Just noticed another splice at 1:32

[Martin Weidmann]

In another thread concerning the shooting of J D Tippit I’ve had to deal with a 6 minute discrepancy between “real time“ and the time being called out on the tapes. It wasn’t something I readily accepted and have examined the tapes for such a discrepancy.
I start with this quote by James C. Bowles, the DPD Communications Supervisor at the time:

“There is no way to connect "police time" with "real time."

This may be true on a second-to-second basis but it is most certainly not true on a minute-to-minute basis, as I will demonstrate.



The above picture is taken seconds after the assassination. The hertz clock can be clearly seen showing 12:30.
In his WC testimony, SA Greer states that in the immediate aftermath of the shooting SA Kellerman stated the time as 12:30
In his WC testimony Dave Powers confirms it was 12:30

Here we have three (I’m sure there are more) independent sources confirming the time of the assassination was 12:30 PM. Arguments about coincidence can be filed under “Tinfoil”.
Three independent sources agree that “real time” was 12:30 PM

When we look at the DPD tape transcripts we see that the very first call after the 12:30 time call is Chief Curry stating:

“Go to the hospital - Parkland Hospital. Have them stand by.”

This is clearly a reference to the assassination.
Without doubt, this example confirms that “real time” can, indeed, be connected to “police time”. Channel 1 and Channel 2 cannot hear each other and are only connected by the Dispatcher. Once it has been established that “real time” and “police time” are in synch, it must now be established that Channel 1 and Channel 2 are in synch and this can only really be done by examining how the Dispatcher interacts with each channel.

This happens around 12:35 when Captain Souther orders - “have 283 cut the traffic at Hines and Industrial” on Channel 2. He immediately switches to Channel 1 and gives the same order.
Another clear example of such synchronisation between channels occurs at 12:45 PM. The Dispatcher broadcasts an almost identical message on each channel concerning a description of the potential assailant.
At this point (12:45 PM) I believe that the channels are synched with each other and with “real time” yet, within half an hour, there is supposed to be a 6 minute discrepancy. I didn’t believe such a discrepancy could occur gradually so looked for something more “catastrophic” in the transcripts...and found it.

At 12:54 PM Patrolman Chism asks for “a squad go to Community Blood Bank and pick up some blood and bring to Parkland, Code 3”. This is clearly a priority message. The Dispatcher asks if the Blood Bank has been notified and Chism confirms they have.
When we look to Channel 1 we should see the Dispatcher asking a squad to get to the Blood Bank, “Code 3” [sirens and lights]. Instead we see the Dispatcher having a joke with J D Tippit, asking him if he will be available for any emergency to which Tippit dryly answers “10-4”. It is Tippit’s last known message and it is quite well known this interaction is an in-joke between Tippit and Murray, the Dispatcher.
In fact, the request for a squad doesn’t occur for approximately 5 - 8 minutes:

Dispatcher - Code 3, the blood bank, 2000 Commerce. Take to Parkland

This message occurs in between the time calls 12:55 PM and 1:03 PM. It occurs a lot closer to the 1:03 time call and the gap of 5 - 8 minutes is given as an estimate.

Immediately after the “Blood Bank” message on Channel 2, Captain Souther, a senior officer, asks for the condition of JFK and whether Governor Connally has been hit. Again, this message is just after 12:54 PM. The response from the Dispatcher - “Have information that the governor was hit” - doesn’t come until 1:03 PM.
There is a nine minute section of radio silence on Channel 2 between this question and answer. There is something clearly wrong. So I looked for something that might account for this sudden, large discrepancy and noticed that on Channel 1, a few minutes before the Dispatcher calls for a squad to get to the Blood Bank, it states the “Tape spliced and duplicated at this point".
There is a similar splice just after 1:12 PM on Channel 1. I believe these splices have something to do with the large time discrepancy that occurs in the tapes. I’m hoping this thread will get to the bottom of it.

Interesting theory. I don't have the time to look into it at the moment, but I most certainly will.

Having said that, the mere fact that the DPD recordings matched "real" time at 12:30 does not guarantee that this will stay that way. Bowles clearly explained how verbal time stamp calls by dispatchers could differ from real time in heavy traffic and the same goes for the clocks used by the dispatchers which might not be adjusted correctly when the dispatcher was busy.

Obviously, prior 12:30, there was a "normal" level of traffic (for a high profile visit) and after 12:30 the dispatchers were inundated by call sheets derived from incoming phone calls and a high level of radio traffic.

Two quotes from Bowles;

Telephone operators and radio operators were furnished "Simplex" clocks. Because the hands often worked loose, they indicated the incorrect time. However, their purpose was to stamp the time, day and date on incoming calls. While they were reliable at this, they were not synchronized as stated in the Committee report. Therefore, it was not uncommon for the time stamped on calls to be a minute to two ahead or behind the "official" time shown on the master clock. Accordingly, at "exactly" 10:10, various clocks could be stamping from 10:08 to 10:12, for example. When clocks were as much as a minute or so out of synchronization it was normal procedure to make the needed adjustments. During busy periods this was not readily done.

In addition to the times stamped on calls by telephone operators, the radio operators stamped the "time" as calls were dispatched, and the "time" that officers completed an assignment and returned to service. Radio operators were also furnished with 12-hour digital clocks to facilitate their time references when they were not using call sheets containing stamped time. These digital clocks were not synchronized with any time standard. Therefore, the time "actual" and time "broadcast" could easily be a minute or so apart.

[Dan O'meara]

Interesting theory. I don't have the time to look into it at the moment, but I most certainly will.

Having said that, the mere fact that the DPD recordings matched "real" time at 12:30 does not guarantee that this will stay that way. Bowles clearly explained how verbal time stamp calls by dispatchers could differ from real time in heavy traffic and the same goes for the clocks used by the dispatchers which might not be adjusted correctly when the dispatcher was busy.

Obviously, prior 12:30, there was a "normal" level of traffic (for a high profile visit) and after 12:30 the dispatchers were inundated by call sheets derived from incoming phone calls and a high level of radio traffic.

Two quotes from Bowles;

Telephone operators and radio operators were furnished "Simplex" clocks. Because the hands often worked loose, they indicated the incorrect time. However, their purpose was to stamp the time, day and date on incoming calls. While they were reliable at this, they were not synchronized as stated in the Committee report. Therefore, it was not uncommon for the time stamped on calls to be a minute to two ahead or behind the "official" time shown on the master clock. Accordingly, at "exactly" 10:10, various clocks could be stamping from 10:08 to 10:12, for example. When clocks were as much as a minute or so out of synchronization it was normal procedure to make the needed adjustments. During busy periods this was not readily done.

In addition to the times stamped on calls by telephone operators, the radio operators stamped the "time" as calls were dispatched, and the "time" that officers completed an assignment and returned to service. Radio operators were also furnished with 12-hour digital clocks to facilitate their time references when they were not using call sheets containing stamped time. These digital clocks were not synchronized with any time standard. Therefore, the time "actual" and time "broadcast" could easily be a minute or so apart.

I'm not disputing that but, once I'd established that "real time" and "police time" were in synch I wasn't convinced that such a discrepancy could be caused by the hands of a clock gradually working loose. I looked for something that could explain such a huge discrepancy in such a short time.
There is a long way to go with this but I'm convinced there is something seriously amiss and it is to do with the two splices in the Channel 1 tape.

[Dan O'meara]

Another inexplicable discrepancy:

Between time calls 1:40 and 1:43 on Channel 2 we find this exchange:

Hill - "A witness reports he was last seen in the Abundant Life Temple about the 400 block. We are fixing to go in and shake it down."

Dispatcher - "Is that the one who was involved in the shooting of the officer?"

Hill - "Yes"

Dispatcher - "They already have him."

At 1:44 PM Hill responds - No, that wasn't the right one.

This interaction is a reference to a suspect who was taken at the library but who, it turned out, was the wrong man. The problem is that this incident was reported on Channel 1 at 1:34 PM, about nine minutes before the exchange on Channel 2. The incident is reported as follows:

Dispatcher - "10-4. For your information, 221, they have the suspect cornered in the library at Marsalis and Jefferson."

221 - "This man can positively identify him if they need him."

Dispatcher - "10-4. They do have the suspect under arrest."

Owens - "19"

Dispatcher - "19"

Owens - "It was the wrong man."

Dispatcher - "10-4"

Dispatcher - "Disregard all information on the suspect arrested. It was the wrong man."

So we have the situation that on Channel 1 the Dispatcher is telling everyone they had the wrong man yet, nine minutes later on Channel 2, the Dispatcher is blissfully unaware that the suspect arrested was the wrong man!

[Dan O'meara]

Another strange discrepancy.

Channel 1 is in almost constant use for the duration of the transcripts.
That is, until around 1:28, where there is radio silence until 1:32.
This is a 3 to 4 minute gap of radio silence after which it goes back into constant use again.
Strangely, Channel 2 comes into use for the exact period of time Channel 1 is silent, with a period of radio silence before and after this sudden burst.
Seems weird.

[Charles Collins]

I see the beginnings of a new book entitled:

“Six Minutes in Dallas”

 

[Martin Weidmann]

I'm not disputing that but, once I'd established that "real time" and "police time" were in synch I wasn't convinced that such a discrepancy could be caused by the hands of a clock gradually working loose. I looked for something that could explain such a huge discrepancy in such a short time.
There is a long way to go with this but I'm convinced there is something seriously amiss and it is to do with the two splices in the Channel 1 tape.

The first thing, I think, we need to do is establish which version of the transcripts is being used, as there are more than one version. I have a scan of a typed version, but I normally use this one; https://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/dpdtapes/index.htm

In the other thread (Lee Oswald The Cop Killer), on page 221, it has already been shown beyond doubt that the DPD recordings/transcripts do not match the interlocking sequence of events described by a number of witnesses.

Aother way to demonstrate that the DPD radio transcripts are unreliable is by demonstrating that they don't even match the actual recordings, as Bill Brown described hearing them at Dale Myers house.

The DPD transcripts have Bowley making his call at 1:17 and Callaway his call at 1:19. The WC puts the time of the shooting at around 1:16

According to Bill Brown, Dale Myers has the actual recording and has determined, by working backwards (from where exactly one can ask!) that the time of the shooting was likely 1:14:30 and that Bowley made his call at 1:17:40 (if I remember correctly!). According to Bill Brown, just after the shooting you can hear a sound on the tape that is Benavides keying the mic of the patrol car. Brown has given three different durations (1 minute, 1,5 minute and 2 minutes) so for the purpose of this exercise let's go with 1,5 minute.

So now let's make a comparision. If the DPD transcripts are correct and the shooting indeed happened at 1:16 as the WC said, then where has Benavides gone? He said he waited in his car until the killer was out of sight, which took about 45 seconds. Add to this 1,5 minutes of keying the mic (or even one minute) and you can never squeeze that between the WC shooting time of 1:16 and Bowley's call at 1:17.

Now, if the shooting happened at 1:14:30, as Myers claims, and Bowley indeed made his call at 1:17:40, there is three minutes and ten seconds to fit in the Benavides time of waiting 45 seconds and then keying the mic. However, even if you use Brown's longest estimate of 2 minutes for keying the mic, you still come up short by 25 seconds to fill the time gap between the shooting at 1:14:30 and Bowley's call at 1:17:40.

None of this makes any sense, because if the shooting happened at 1:14:30 and Callaway made his call at 1:19 (Brown sometimes speculates it could also have been 1:20) then you have Callaway making his call some 5 minutes after the shooting, when in fact he only needed (IMO) a little less than 3 minutes to get to scene after hearing the shots and those two extra minutes can not be accounted for, at least in a credible manner.

Also, according to Bill Brown three people phoned the police after the shooting, They are Mary Wright, Barbara Davis and L.J. Lewis. The dispatcher, Murray Jackson, would be notified about the call by way of a time stamped call sheet that was passed on to him by way of a conveyor belt. Still according to Brown, the dispatcher did not know about Tippit's shooting until he received Bowley's radio call at 1:17:40. Are we really to believe that it took the telephone operator at 3 minutes to pass a call sheet to the dispatcher?

All this justifies the conclusion that the transcript and the actual radio tapes (as decribed by Brown) do not match reality nor do they match eachother.

[Mitch Todd]

[...]
At 12:54 PM Patrolman Chism asks for “a squad go to Community Blood Bank and pick up some blood and bring to Parkland, Code 3”. This is clearly a priority message. The Dispatcher asks if the Blood Bank has been notified and Chism confirms they have.
When we look to Channel 1 we should see the Dispatcher asking a squad to get to the Blood Bank, “Code 3” [sirens and lights]. Instead we see the Dispatcher having a joke with J D Tippit, asking him if he will be available for any emergency to which Tippit dryly answers “10-4”. It is Tippit’s last known message and it is quite well known this interaction is an in-joke between Tippit and Murray, the Dispatcher.
In fact, the request for a squad doesn’t occur for approximately 5 - 8 minutes:

Dispatcher - Code 3, the blood bank, 2000 Commerce. Take to Parkland

This message occurs in between the time calls 12:55 PM and 1:03 PM. It occurs a lot closer to the 1:03 time call and the gap of 5 - 8 minutes is given as an estimate.

Immediately after the “Blood Bank” message on Channel 2, Captain Souther, a senior officer, asks for the condition of JFK and whether Governor Connally has been hit. Again, this message is just after 12:54 PM. The response from the Dispatcher - “Have information that the governor was hit” - doesn’t come until 1:03 PM.
There is a nine minute section of radio silence on Channel 2 between this question and answer. There is something clearly wrong. So I looked for something that might account for this sudden, large discrepancy and noticed that on Channel 1, a few minutes before the Dispatcher calls for a squad to get to the Blood Bank, it states the “Tape spliced and duplicated at this point".
There is a similar splice just after 1:12 PM on Channel 1. I believe these splices have something to do with the large time discrepancy that occurs in the tapes. I’m hoping this thread will get to the bottom of it.
 
LATER EDIT =Just noticed another splice at 1:32

You got hornswaggled by the formatting on McAdams' website.

There are no timestamps on either the Chism or Souter transmissions, so we don't know exactly when they were made. All we know is that they occurred sometime after the rope transmission at 12:54 and the before the channel 2 dispatcher responds to Souter at 1:03. They could very well be just before the 1:03 transmission, eliminating any discrepancy. Their positioning just after the rope transmission on McAdams' site is just an arbitrary decision by the person who put together the page.