James M. Chaney
Encyclopedia
James M. Chaney was a witness and Dallas police motorcycle presidential escort riding only ten to fifteen feet away from (slightly behind and to the left of) President
John F. Kennedy
during his assassination
on November 22, 1963 within Dealey Plaza
in Dallas, Texas
. He is not to be confused with James E. Chaney, one of three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi in 1964.
frame 255, Chaney is seen very close to the limousine facing President Kennedy. Chaney further stated that "the second shot hit him in the face," and that a third shot was fired that Chaney did not see hit the president but he did see Governor John B. Connally's shirt erupt in blood. Chaney stated that the shots he remembered hearing seemed to come from "back over my right shoulder." During the assassination his police uniform was spattered with blood and President Kennedy's head matter.
On November 23, 1963 Chaney was stationed on duty within Dealey Plaza and spoke with nightclub owner and alleged organized crime
member Jack Ruby
when Ruby stopped by the plaza to see the memorial wreaths, flowers, and messages placed there by mourners.
James Chaney, the closest non-limousine witness to the president during the assassination, was never called by the Warren Commission
to testify.
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
John F. Kennedy
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
during his assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
on November 22, 1963 within Dealey Plaza
Dealey Plaza
Dealey Plaza , in the historic West End district of downtown Dallas, Texas , is the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He is not to be confused with James E. Chaney, one of three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi in 1964.
JFK's Assassination
In a November 22, 1963 interview with reporter Bill Lord recorded by Dallas ABC TV, Chaney stated he remembered hearing three shots. Chaney said when he heard the first shot he remembered that it sounded like a motorcycle backfiring and Chaney immediately looked to his right and saw President Kennedy had "looked back over his left shoulder" within the limousine. In the famous Ike Altgens photo taken concurrent with Zapruder filmZapruder film
The Zapruder film is a silent, color motion picture sequence shot by private citizen Abraham Zapruder with a home-movie camera, asU.S. President John F...
frame 255, Chaney is seen very close to the limousine facing President Kennedy. Chaney further stated that "the second shot hit him in the face," and that a third shot was fired that Chaney did not see hit the president but he did see Governor John B. Connally's shirt erupt in blood. Chaney stated that the shots he remembered hearing seemed to come from "back over my right shoulder." During the assassination his police uniform was spattered with blood and President Kennedy's head matter.
On November 23, 1963 Chaney was stationed on duty within Dealey Plaza and spoke with nightclub owner and alleged organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
member Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby
Jacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...
when Ruby stopped by the plaza to see the memorial wreaths, flowers, and messages placed there by mourners.
James Chaney, the closest non-limousine witness to the president during the assassination, was never called by the Warren Commission
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established on November 27, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
to testify.