Tippit shooting: How to approach a murder suspect ...

[J?rn Frending]

Tippit was a ww2 parachuting veteran with 10 years of experience as a police officer in Dallas.

He is approaching a murder suspect who matches the description broadcast to him on radio.

However, he approaches the man keeping his gun IN THE HOLSTER and drives up TO THE SIDE of the man STAYING BEHIND the steering wheel engaging in a friendly conversation NOT asking him to KEEP HIS HANDS where he can see them. He does not even find it convenient to INFORM THE DISPATCHER of his intentions.

[J?rn Frending]

The shooter is able to draw his gun and in rapid succession fire an old surplus revolver three times in double action mode hitting Tippit in a perfect vertical line, quickly and accurately, which means that Tippit did not have time to move even to inches to one side or the other before it was over ...

This would be more likely from a skilled well trained shooter with a proper gun ...

[Dan DAlimonte]

Tippit was a ww2 parachuting veteran with 10 years of experience as a police officer in Dallas.

He is approaching a murder suspect who matches the description broadcast to him on radio.

However, he approaches the man keeping his gun IN THE HOLSTER and drives up TO THE SIDE of the man STAYING BEHIND the steering wheel engaging in a friendly conversation NOT asking him to KEEP HIS HANDS where he can see them. He does not even find it convenient to INFORM THE DISPATCHER of his intentions.

Hey, Jorn.  What you posted always bothered me as well.  Anyway you look at it,
Tippit did not consider the suspect a potential threat which is why I believe that the theory, they knew each other in a casual way ... like frequenting the same restaurant or diner in the morning before each of them went to work ... should be given some merit.
Hence the conversation through the small, side window.

Hey, Lee did you hear about the President being shot?

Now, what answer could Lee give before Tippit remembers ...
Hey, wait a minute doesn't he work on the same street.  What's he doing here?

[J?rn Frending]

I started this topic because in another thread someone claimed that a .38 auto is the same as a .380 which is of course not true but to my astonishment nobody protested about it. I then realized how little or how poorly we actually treat the shooting event or gunfight it self.

The .38 AUTO is similar (close) in dimensions to the .38 special but as it is semi rimmed it can be used in both revolvers and automatics. It does read .38 AUTO on the headstamp to the contrary of other .38 calibers designed for revolvers only.

Some Webley Scott revolvers are chambered for this round as some popular surplus handguns of the time like the ASTRA 400 and the STAR MODEL AS. Obviously automatics allow much more rapid succession of firing shots, even the AUTOMATIC WEBLEY REVOLVER which was also chambered in this round.

Thus, being semi rimmed and similar in dimensions to the .38 Special, the .38 AUTO could probably cause some confusion or misunderstandings in stressful situations ...

[Walt Cakebread]

Tippit was a ww2 parachuting veteran with 10 years of experience as a police officer in Dallas.

He is approaching a murder suspect who matches the description broadcast to him on radio.

However, he approaches the man keeping his gun IN THE HOLSTER and drives up TO THE SIDE of the man STAYING BEHIND the steering wheel engaging in a friendly conversation NOT asking him to KEEP HIS HANDS where he can see them. He does not even find it convenient to INFORM THE DISPATCHER of his intentions.

Do ya think that Tippit was drunk?

[J?rn Frending]

[quote author=J?rn Frending link=topic=
Answering Dan:

Yes, it was a personal thing, kind of "stay away from my wife" situation, and then " You asked for it - let's settle this now" ...

If it was not personal, the suspect could just have run down the alley out of sight, "nothing to see here, move on" ...

[Richard Smith]

Tippit was a ww2 parachuting veteran with 10 years of experience as a police officer in Dallas.

He is approaching a murder suspect who matches the description broadcast to him on radio.

However, he approaches the man keeping his gun IN THE HOLSTER and drives up TO THE SIDE of the man STAYING BEHIND the steering wheel engaging in a friendly conversation NOT asking him to KEEP HIS HANDS where he can see them. He does not even find it convenient to INFORM THE DISPATCHER of his intentions.

We will never know with certainty what drew Tippit's attention to Oswald.  Oswald likely did something that appeared suspicious to him.  There is no reason to believe Tippit stopped to talk with every male who matched the description of the assassin.  Thus, he was not approaching "a murder suspect" at the time but just someone who had attracted his attention.  And he decided to check it out.  Not unlike what drew Brewer's attention a short while later, it's likely Oswald tried to make himself inconspicuous when he saw a police car and Tippit recognized that as suspect behavior.   

[Jerry Freeman]

I started this topic because in another thread someone claimed that a .38 auto is the same as a .380 which is of course not true but to my astonishment nobody protested about it.

So what?
A .380 ACP was fired from hammer-less pistols.
Either that or a .38  [automatic Colt pistol] is probably what Tippit was shot with [not by Oswald]
That Tippit 'approached a murder suspect' is a theory based on nothing.