John William Fritz (June 15, 1896 – April 19, 1984) was the captain of Homicide and Robbery Bureau of the Dallas Police Department. In November 1963, he received nationwide attention as the head of the police investigation of the murder of president John F. Kennedy and the primary interrogator of Lee Harvey Oswald.[1]
J. W. Fritz | |
|---|---|
| Born | John William Fritz June 15, 1896 Dublin, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | April 19, 1984 (aged 87) Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Captain of Homicide and Robbery Bureau, Dallas Police Department |
| Spouse | Faye |
| Children | one daughter |
Early life
editFritz was born on June 15, 1896, in Dublin, Texas. He spent much of his childhood on a ranch near Lake Arthur, New Mexico. As a young man, he earned a living as a horse and mule merchant, traveling around West Texas and New Mexico. He served briefly in the army during World War I. In the early 1920s, he enrolled in Tarleton State College (now Tarleton State University) in Stephenville, Texas.[1]
Police career
editFritz joined the Dallas Police Department in 1921 and soon became a detective. In the early 1930s, he was involved in the hunt for Bonnie and Clyde.[2] He was promoted to captain in 1934 to organize the Homicide and Robbery Bureau. Although he was made an inspector of detectives in 1935, he voluntarily returned to the rank of captain in 1944. In 1947, he was given the title of senior captain, as he reportedly refused the offer to become the Dallas police chief. As the captain of the Homicide and Robbery Bureau, Fritz gained a reputation as a skilled interrogator.[1]
The Homicide and Robbery Bureau was considered the elite unit of the Dallas Police Department, and its detectives wore unique Stetson hats.[2] Because of his experience and intimidating demeanor, most Dallas police officers respected and feared Fritz more than Dallas police chief Jesse Curry. According to author Vincent Bugliosi, Fritz was known to run his bureau as his "own private and independent fiefdom". Dallas district attorney Henry Wade told the Warren Commission that Fritz "runs a kind of one-man operation", and was reluctant to tell others what he was doing.[2]
Kennedy assassination
editOn November 22, 1963, around 1 PM (about 30 minutes after the assassination), Fritz led the search of the Texas School Book Depository building. A bolt action rifle and three empty rifle cartridges were discovered by his team on the building's sixth floor.[3]
After Oswald's apprehension as a suspect in the killing of officer J. D. Tippit, Fritz connected him to the Kennedy assassination, because Oswald was the only employee missing from the building.[3]
Fritz questioned Oswald all afternoon about the shootings of Kennedy and Tippit. The Dallas police intermittently questioned him for approximately 12 hours between 2:30 p.m., on November 22, and 11 a.m., on November 24.[4] Throughout, Oswald denied any involvement with either shooting.[4] Fritz kept only rudimentary notes.[5][6] Days later, he wrote a report of the interrogation from notes he made afterwards.[5] There were no stenographic or tape recordings. Representatives of other law enforcement agencies were also present, including the FBI and the Secret Service, and occasionally participated in the questioning.[7] Several of the FBI agents who were present wrote contemporaneous reports of the interrogation.[8]
On the evening of November 22, Texas School Book Depository superintendent Roy Truly was overheard by reporter Kent Biffle, informing Fritz that he had seen Oswald in “a storage room on the first floor”. Fritz wrote that Truly saw Oswald “immediately after the shooting somewhere near the back stairway”. The storage room on the first floor was located near the back stairway.[9][10] Fritz wrote in his notes that Oswald claimed he was “out with [William Shelley, a foreman at the depository] in front”.[11][12]
Fritz did not get a confession from Oswald, but said he had all the proof he needed to convict. On November 22, before midnight, Fritz formally charged Oswald with murder.[1]
Operating under chief Curry, Fritz helped plan the transfer of Oswald from the police headquarters to the Dallas county jail. He was present when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby on November 24.[1]
Fritz provided testimony to Warren Commission assistant counsel Joseph A. Ball.[3] He provided additional testimony on July 14, 1964 to assistant counsel Leon D. Hubert Jr.[13]
Later life and death
editFritz rarely gave interviews or spoke about the assassination in public. In 1969, he was transferred to the position of night commander of the criminal investigation division, a move that can be interpreted as a demotion. Fritz retired on February 27, 1970 after 49 years of service, and spent his retirement hunting, fishing and keeping cattle. He was divorced from his wife, and lived alone much of his life in the White Plaza Hotel, located near the Dallas police headquarters.[2][1]
Fritz died on April 19, 1984.[1]
Portrayals in movies
editFifteen years after the assassination, Fritz was portrayed by Lou Frizzell in the 1978 made-for-television movie, Ruby and Oswald.[14]
In the 1991 Oliver Stone film JFK, Fritz was portrayed by William Larsen.[15]
He was portrayed by Mike Shiflett in the 2013 TV movie Killing Kennedy.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "TSHA | Fritz, John Will". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Bugliosi, Vincent (May 17, 2008). Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393072037. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Testimony Of J. W. Fritz". mcadams.posc.mu.edu. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ a b Warren 1964, chpt. 4, p. 180.
- ^ a b Report of Capt. J. W. Fritz, Dallas Police Department. Warren Commission Hearings (Report). pp. 599–611. Retrieved November 25, 2012 – via Assassination Archives and Research Center.
- ^ "Captain Will Fritz's notes of LHO interrogation". JFK Lancer Productions & Publications. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
Captain Fritz told the Warren Commission that "I kept no notes at the time" of his several interrogations of Oswald (4 H 209). However, many years later, someone discovered some two and a half pages of Fritz's contemporaneous handwritten notes at the National Archives. Fritz also said that "several days later" he wrote more extensive notes of the interrogations (4 H 209).
- ^ Warren 1964, chpt. 4, pp. 180–195.
- ^ Reports of Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Warren Commission Hearings (Report). pp. 612–625. Retrieved November 25, 2012 – via Assassination Archives and Research Center.
- ^ Dallas Police Department file on investigation of the assassination of the President, "Interrogation of Lee Harvey Oswald", vol. 4, p. 265.
- ^ FBI Report of Capt. J.W. Fritz, Warren Report, appendix 11, p. 600.
- ^ "Will Fritz's Notes from Interrogation of Oswald". www.maryferrell.org. November 22, 1963. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ Prayer Man: The Exoneration of Lee Harvey Oswald By Stan Dane (2015), p. 124.
- ^ "Testimony Of J.w. Fritz". mcadams.posc.mu.edu. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "Ruby and Oswald (TV Movie 1978) - IMDb". Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "JFK (1991) - IMDb". Retrieved March 10, 2021.
- ^ "Killing Kennedy (TV Movie 2013) - IMDb". Retrieved March 9, 2021.
Sources
edit- Warren, Earl (1964). Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy. United States Government Printing Office.