Dallas Cop Handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald When Assassin Was Murdered By Jack Ruby Is Honored For His Bravery 50-Years Later By Dallas Police Force, VIDEO OF SHOOTING FOLLOWS
In one of the most famous photographs ever taken, a Dallas cop wearing a white Cowboy hat is seen handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald as Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby in the basement of the Dallas police headquarters. On that fateful moment on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald had assassinated President Kennedy, that Dallas cop became a permanent part of American and world history.
The cop, actually a detective, is Jim Leavelle, now 92-years old. On Tuesday, Leavelle received the police commendation award for his years of service on the Dallas police force.
The award was presented during a ceremony in Dallas. Police Chief David Brown said the award for detective of the year will be named in Leavelle's honor, according to the New York Daily News.
Leavelle, 92, joined the Dallas police force in April 1950. He was among the lead detectives assigned to investigate the November 22nd assassination of the President.
At the ceremony, Leavelle said he was thinking of other deserving officers, including Officer J.D. Tippit, who was shot and killed by Oswald on that day.
Leavelle said that being an officer was a job he always enjoyed and that he took a pay cut to pursue a career in law enforcement, according to the examiner.com.
In brief comments after the presentation, Leavelle said that when he saw an armed Ruby approach in the basement of Dallas police headquarters, he tried unsuccessfully to jerk Oswald behind him to shield him from harm.
"You don't stop and think," Leavelle said. "You have to react."
The iconic photo that captured the moment Ruby shot Oswald won a Pulitzer Prize
In a related story, Dallas police have also honored the man whose "keen observation skills and strong sense of civic duty" led them to Oswald, who had crept into the back of a darkened movie theater to hide on Nov. 22, 1963, shortly after the assassination of the President.
Police Chief Brown presented Johnny Calvin Brewer with the department's Citizen's Certificate of Merit and praised his selfless act and "exemplary conduct" 48 years ago during a ceremony at the Texas Theatre - the same place where Oswald was captured about 80 minutes after Kennedy was killed, according to policeone.com.
The Dallas Police have been trying to revisit its legacy and its history after so many years of trying to move away from the tragedy of 1963 the city has long been associated with. Honoring Detective Leavelle and Mr. Brewer are a part of that effort not to disassociate itself any longer.
WATCH VIDEO OF OSWALD BEING SHOT BY JACK RUBY