Nov. 22, 1963 - Captain John William Fritz of the Homicide and Robbery Bureau of the Dallas Police Department conducted the initial interrogation today of 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald (left), a suspect in the assassination of President Kennedy and in the murder of Dallas police officer J.W. Tippit. Helen Markham, who witnessed the shooting of Patrolman Tippit, picked Mr. Oswald out of a police lineup. Mr. Oswald has denied committing either murder. Here is an excerpt from the transcript of the interrogation conducted by Capt. Fritz:
Fritz: Did you win any medals for rifle-shooting in the Marines? Oswald: Just the usual medals.
Fritz: Like what? Oswald: I got an award for marksmanship…
Fritz: Did you work at the depository today?
Oswald: Yes.
Fritz: How long have you worked there?
Oswald: Since October 15th.
Fritz: What part of the building were you in at the time the President was shot?
Oswald: I was having lunch about that time on the first floor. We broke for lunch about noon, and I came down and ate.
Fritz: Where were you when the officer stopped you?
Oswald: I was on the second floor drinking a Coke when an officer came in. There’s a soda machine in the lunchroom there. I went up to get a Coke.
Fritz: Then what did you do? Oswald: I left.
Fritz: Where did you go when you left work?
Oswald: I went over to my room on Beckley, changed my trousers, got my pistol, and went to the movies.
Fritz: Why did you take your pistol?
Oswald: I felt like it.
Fritz: You felt like it?
Oswald: You know how boys are when they have a gun. They just carry it.
Fritz: Did you shoot Officer Tippit?
Oswald: No, I didn’t. The only law I violated was when I hit the officer in the [movie] show; and he hit me in the eye, and I guess I deserved it. That is the only law I violated. That is the only thing I have done wrong.
Fritz: What did you do during the three years you lived in the Soviet Union?
Oswald: I worked in a factory.
Fritz: What kind?
Oswald: A radio electronics factory.
Fritz: Why did you leave the depository after the shooting?
Oswald: I went out front and was standing with Bill Shelley, and after hearing what happened, with all the confusion, I figured there wouldn’t be any more work done the rest of the day, so I went home. The company’s not that particular about our hours. We don’t even punch a clock.
Fritz: What kind of work do you do at the depository?
Oswald: I fill orders.
Fritz: Which floors do you have access to?
Oswald: Well, as a laborer, I have access to the entire building…
Fritz: Did you shoot the President?
Oswald: No, I emphatically deny that. I haven’t shot anybody.
