Watched a PBS documentary about JFK’s visit to Tampa 4 days before his assassination in Dallas.
In Tampa any building 3 stories or taller along the parade route had armed security on every floor. Why didn’t they do that in Dallas? Lee Harvey Oswald could not have done what he did.
Was that impractical in Dallas for some reason? Did the Dallas police nix the idea?
Wouldn’t Dallas have been a much bigger city, with many more tall buildings downtown, than Tampa? Compare the low-slung buildings in JFK in Tampa with the more canyon-like JFK in Dallas on the fateful day. So my guess is yes, impracticality of securing every tall-ish building overlooking the Dallas parade route.
Yep. That’s probably it.
Tampa wasn’t really that big back then and Florida in those times generally didn’t go for many tall buildings. Not true today though. High rises everywhere now.
Because they didn’t want him to be safe
Great, it’s been a great gig for 50 years, but somebody’s let the cat out of the bag. PSXer, we’ve got to talk.
Dallas was not safe. Kennedy had been warned by Senator Fullbright-he told Kennedy “don’t go there”.
One third of Dallas’ police force was assigned to handle presidential security when JFK came to town. Coverage was more dense in areas where larger crowds were expected to gather. Dealey Plaza, a relatively lifeless West End district, produced far more spectators than the planners had anticipated, so security in the area was comparatively light.
Bear in mind that Kennedy – much to the constant frustration of his Secret Service detail – took every opportunity he could to stroll right into crowds for handshakes and face-to-face greetings. As a result, security arrangements were primarily designed to spot and intercept “the lone nut” with a gun pressing through the crowd. Rooftop sharpshooters were placed atop certain buildings in the downtown area, but not, as it happened, in Dealey Plaza.
You know this thread reminded me that in all the years I have been hearing this, I never once questioned what a “book depository” is. We don’t have anything called that in any of the places I have lived. I finally went and looked it up. For anyone else like me, it is like a giant book warehouse.
