The wind in Dealey Plaza was blowing from the southwest to the northeast. Officer Bobby Hargis stated that he was hit by so much blood and brain matter that he thought he was hit with concrete. He was to the left rear of the presidential limousine. To his left was Officer B. J. Martin. Officer Hargis covered Officer Martin's right side at the exact moment of the fatal head shot. Officer Martin was on the very edge of the south side of Elm Street. The left side of his uniform, his helmet, and his motorcycle's windshield were splattered with blood and brain matter. In order for these materials to reach Officer Martin and his motorcycle, the fatal head shot had to come from the front. Sincerely yours, Michael
Mr. BALL. He was parallel to you on another motorcycle?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir; we were --
Mr. BALL. Two motorcycles abreast?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. BALL. As you turned onto Houston from Main, can you tell me about the speed of the President's car?
Mr. MARTIN. My estimation would be 4 to 5 miles an hour when we made the turn onto Elm Street from Houston.
Mr. BALL. From Houston?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Now, did you make the turn from Main to Houston about the same speed?
Mr. MARTIN. No, sir; we were going a little faster, I would say - between probably 10 and 15 miles an hour.
Mr. BALL. And then the block between Main and Elm, did the motorcade. slow down?
Mr. MARTIN. It slowed down just before we made the turn onto Elm Street.
Mr. BALL. Let's take the President's car - what do you think the speed of the President's car was as you made that turn from Houston onto Elm?
Mr. MARTIN. I believe the speed was about 4 or 5 miles an hour.
Mr. BALL. What was your speed?
Mr. MARTIN. Approximately the same - maybe a mile slower.
Mr. BALL. Were you able to maintain your position on the two-wheeler motor cycle?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir; I believe I did.
Mr. BALL. What is the minimum speed at which you can maintain the position of that motorcycle?
Mr. MARTIN. About 2 miles per hour, I would Imagine.
Mr. BALL. Did the President's car pick up any speed from the corner of Houston and Elm - we'll say half way down that hill?
Mr. MARTIN. No, sir; I don't recall it picking up any speed in there.
Mr. BALL. They were going fairly slow?
Mr. MARTIN. It may have picked up, gradually picked up. but not enough that I could notice.
Mr. BALL. Did you hear any unusual noise?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir; I heard a shot, or what I thought at the time to be a shot.
Mr. BALL. What was the position of your motorcycle at that time with reference to the President's car?
Mr. MARTIN. Just to the rear of his car - on the left rear of his car.
Mr. BALL. How far from the car, I'll say, to the left of the car and then how far to the rear - so I can get some idea of your position?
Mr. MARTIN. I would say that my motor was 5-foot to the left and approximately 6- to 8-foot to the rear.
Mr. BALL. Of the President's car?
Mr. MARTIN. Of the President's car.
Mr. BALL. Were you anywhere near the front end of the Secret Service car?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. The car the Secret Service men were in?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes; we were alongside the front end of their car, because one of the agents got off of the car after the first shot. The best I can remember - I was fairly close to him - he was the person riding on the fender of the car and the first agent from the front of the car, and I was fairly close to him when be jumped off of the car.
Mr. BALL. Now, where was the motorcycle driven by Mr. Hargis, with reference to your right or to your left?
Mr. MARTIN. He was to my right when we made the turn on Houston Street.
Mr. BALL. At the time you heard this shot, where was he?
Mr. MARTIN. I presume he was still to my right. I don't recall seeing him after the shots.
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Mr. BALL. Was there any breeze that day?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes; there was.
Mr. BALL. From what direction?
Mr. MARTIN. I believe it was blowing out of the southwest at that particular location. It seemed like we were going to turn into the wind as we turned off of Houston onto Elm.
Mr. BALL. The wind was in your face?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes; the best I can recall.
Mr. BALL. Now, afterward, did the motorcade pick up speed then?
Mr. MARTIN. After we turned onto Houston?
Mr. BALL. No; after the shots?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes - after the shots we picked up speed.
Mr. BALL. Did you go on to Parkland?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir; I did. I rode just part of the time alongside of the President's car. At times we were forced to the rear because of the pedestrians standing out on Stemmons and there just wasn't enough room to ride in there.
Mr. BALL. Could you see the President?
Mr. MARTIN. No, sir; I couldn't see him - immediately after the first shot I saw him and after that I couldn't see him.
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Mr. BALL. And did you see the Governor at all?
Mr. MARTIN. No, sir. I didn't pay any attention to the Governor.
Mr. BALL. Now, when you got to Parkland Hospital, what did you do?
Mr. MARTIN. We pulled into the emergency entrance to Parkland Hospital. The traffic had already begun to stack up and the officers ahead of the motorcade went on down into the exit and I stopped off at the first turn into the exit about 50 or 60 yards from the entrance to the emergency and began to cut traffic so they wouldn't block the roadway down into the emergency and then we had to park cars - just a lot of people got out of their cars and it was all blocked up and we had to park cars and just generally work traffic around there.
Mr. BALL. You had a white helmet on?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Did you notice any stains on your helmet?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir; during the process of working traffic there, I noticed that there were blood stains on the windshield on my motor and then I pulled off my helmet and I noticed there were blood stains on the left side of my helmet.
Mr. BALL. To give a more accurate description of the left side, could you tell us about where it started with reference to the forehead?
Mr. MARTIN. It was just to the left - of what would be the center of my forehead - approximately halfway, about a quarter of the helmet had spots of blood on it.
Mr. BALL. And were there any other spots of any other material on the helmet there besides blood?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir; there was other matter that looked like pieces of flesh.
Mr. BALL. What about your uniform?
Mr. MARTIN. There was blood and matter on my left shoulder of my uniform.
Mr. BALL. You pointed to a place in front of your shoulder, about the clavicle region?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Is that about where it was?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes.
Mr. BALL. On the front of your uniform and not on the side?
Mr. MARTIN. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. That would be left, was it?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes; on the left side.
Mr. BALL. And just below the level of the shoulder?
Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And what spots were there?
Mr. MARTIN. They were blood spots and other matter.
Mr. BALL. And what did you notice on your windshield?
Mr. MARTIN. There was blood and other matter on my windshield and also on the motor.
Mr. BALL. Was the blood noticeable - were there large splotches?
Mr. MARTIN. No; they weren't large splotches, they were small - It was not very noticeable unless you looked at it.
Mr. BALL. Was the discoloration on your helmet noticeable?
Mr. MARTIN. Not too much - no -as a matter of fact, there were other people around there and two more officers there and they never noticed it.
Mr. BALL. At that time were you with Mr. Hargis?
Mr. MARTIN. No, sir; I don't believe that he went to the hospital with us. I believe he stopped there at the scene of the shooting.
Mr. BALL. And did you ever see his helmet or his uniform or the windshield of his motorcycle?
Mr. MARTIN. No, sir - I never recall seeing him again until the next day.
Mr. BALL. Now, was this blood on the outside or the inside of your windshield?
Mr. MARTIN. It was on the outside of my windshield.
Mr. BALL. Was it on the right or left side?
Mr. MARTIN. It was on the outside of my windshield.
Mr. BALL. And what about the fender of the motorcycle?