Unauthorized Car In JFKs Motorcade

[Bill Chapman]

The sequence of cars in JFKs motorcade were:

- Advance car
- Pilot car
- Lead car
- JFKs limousine

The advance car was driven by Captain Lawrence but this car was not authorized to be part of the motorcade:

Captain LAWRENCE: I was in uniform, but I was driving a plain car which I drive. When the Presidential plane arrived and President Kennedy got off of the plane, I saw that there was going to be a brief ceremony there, and I knew that Chief Lumpkin was going to---I had been told was going to be ahead of this motorcade I got in my car and tried to be a few blocks ahead of him to make sure that everybody was on their assignments, and, of course, the crowd, the huge crowd en route surprised me, especially in the residential area, that all the people had turned out to see the President. Although I was not given this assignment--I proceeded on this route, and I followed it on down to the Trade Mart.

Not only this, but Captain Lawrence who was supposed to be off on the Saturday an Sunday that weekend, begins to follow LHO around in plain clothes:

Captain LAWRENCE: I was scheduled to be off on Saturday and Sunday. These were my days off. On Saturday at approximately 10 a.m., I came down in civilian clothes and I observed a large crowd of people around the county courthouse and I had knowledge from what I had heard on television and I had seen on television and heard on the radio that charges had already been filed against Lee Harvey Oswald.

Captain Lawrence again follows LHO on the Sunday morning:

Captain LAWRENCE: So on Sunday morning I arrived down there and I'm going to guess at the time as approximately 8 a.m. I first went by the office and I picked up some police reserves in my car and took about four of them down there with me, and then I had some motorcycle officers that were not already stationed--upstairs on the third floor--and I had them meet me down there too.

If there was more than one shooter in Dealey Plaza, the arrival of an unauthorized car there just minutes before JFK was to arrive is something i would have thought should have been more thoroughly investigated. Captain Lawrence is not the only mystery police officer driving around that day when you also consider the honking car outside LHOs rooming house at 1pm.

You forgot The Little Nash Rambler