The JFK 100
Eyewitness J. C. Price
Zeke Mills (left) as eyewitness J. C. Price,
with Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner)
Zeke Mills (left) as eyewitness J. C. Price,
with Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner)
Our view is from the roof of the building on the extreme south side of the Plaza. J. C. Price, the building engineer, in hat and overalls, points for Jim and Lou.In reality, however, in neither his November 22, 1963, statement to the Dallas County Sheriff's Office, nor the published portion of his March 27, 1966, interview with researcher Mark Lane, does J. C. Price express an opinion as to the location where the shots originated.(2)
The camera tightens on the picket fence.PRICE (VOICE OVER) . . . yes, sir, right here on this spot. The shots came from near that wooden fence over there, near the overpass.
PRICE (V.O.) I saw a man run from this spot and go behind the Book Depository -- 30 minutes later I gave this information to the Sheriff.(1)
Eyewitness J. C. Price
Price's November 22 statement is most notable for the claims that:
- Price did not actually see the President get shot, as his view of the limousine was obstructed as it passed underneath the triple underpass. (As anyone who's seen the Zapruder film can attest, the shooting was over well before the limousine reached the underpass.)
- "I saw one man run towards the passenger cars on the railroad siding after the volley of shots. . . . He had something in his hand. I couldn't be sure but it may have been a head piece" -- i.e., a hat. Price would later tell Mark Lane it "could have been a gun." Being well over the length of a football field from this alleged running man, however, one has to wonder what else it "could have been" that Price purportedly saw, if anything at all. (Eyewitness Lee Bowers had an elevated view of the railroad yard, and he did not see anyone running in that area.) And . . .
- "There was a volley of shots, and then much later, maybe as much as five minutes later [emphasis added], another one."(3) (The shooting lasted approximately five to ten seconds.)
One has to wonder why, with all the eyewitnesses in Dealey Plaza to choose from, Oliver Stone would spotlight the testimony of J. C. Price.
Copyright © 2001, 2011 by David Reitzes
NOTES:1. Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar, JFK: The Book of the Film (New York: Applause, 1992), p. 121. All quotations are from the shooting script and may vary slightly from the finished motion picture.
2. J. C. Price, statement to Dallas County Sheriff's Office, November 22, 1963; Mark Lane, Rush to Judgment (New York: Thunder's Mouth, 1992), pp. 32-33.
3. J. C. Price, statement to Dallas County Sheriff's Office, November 22, 1963; Mark Lane, Rush to Judgment (New York: Thunder's Mouth, 1992), p. 33.