Understanding the Importance of the Z186-190 Shot

[Nancy Wilson]

That's also the best shot of Umbrella man, obviously adding blocked view forward to the bottom left edge of the freeway sign, to the limo or those behind it and low- fence line visual cover to the last moment

[Michael T. Griffith]

I think maybe we can see three near the steps: the one in the photo left red shirt is partially covered by another man in front- lower and in black top.

Remove the  6th floor Depository Oswald Warren finding, and place the rear shooter on the top of the Dal Tex building, and there is no Zapruder frame blackout due  to trees- it's very possible the shot came at 190 etc.,   THEN there is no Bending Bullet- Google satellite views clearly show a straight on shot into the limo, AND at the same downward trajectory as the 6th floor angle. a bullet on a straight line passes through JFK neck and into Connelly.  No Blame on Lights of Broadway, man, or nam spelled backwards.

Yes, exactly. And we have photographic evidence that suggests a shot was fired from a lower floor of the Dal-Tex Building. That's also the building that Mafia man Eugene Hale Brading "just happened" to be caught exiting suspiciously right after the shooting (he was arrested but then soon released as the Oswald-alone mentality took over). Also, a laser-based trajectory analysis in the 1990s found that at least one shot traced back to the Dal-Tex Building.

[Michael T. Griffith]

One of the key contributions that the HSCA made to our understanding of the JFK shooting is the acknowledgment that the first hit on JFK came at or shortly before Z190. Just admitting that a shot was fired at this time was crucial, because the sixth-floor gunman would not have had a view of JFK from Z166-207 due to the intervening oak tree. One item of evidence for the Z190 shot is the strong blur episode from Z190-200. It is the second-strongest blur episode of the seven blur episodes that the HSCA photographic experts found clearly exceeded the threshold of 2 percent of the field of view (“% of field-of-view”) and the threshold for “frame-to-frame departure from smooth panning.” Another item of evidence for the Z190 shot is Willis slide 5.

Dr. William Hartmann, a member of the HSCA's Photographic Evidence Panel, explained some of the evidence for the Z190 shot, and noted the Zapruder film indicates JFK was hit by this shot:

Mr. CORNWELL. And would it be accurate to state that the second largest area of
blur or jiggle, apart from the one which occurred shortly after the head shot,
would be in the earlier portion of the film?

Dr. HARTMANN. That is correct.

Mr. CORNWELL. What frame is that associated with?

Dr. HARTMANN. About frames 190 to 200 there is a strong blur reaction
initiated. So having concluded that this is in fact, that the blur sequence around
313 to 319 is in fact a response to the gunshots, I would think that the logical
inference would be that the blur sequence, the blur episode, running typically
from 190 to 200 is also a response to a possible gunshot. And we know that the
President emerged from behind the sign somewhat later, some frames later,
showing in fact a reaction to such a wound.

Mr. CORNWELL. And what, if any, corroboration is provided by this analysis to
the Warren Commission's conclusion that the President and the Governor may
have been shot in the vicinity of frame 210.

Dr. HARTMANN. Yes, they picked 210. I would say that to pick 210 in the face of
this current evidence, to pick 210 as the time for that first shot, which is the
Warren Commission's conclusion, would not be warranted from this evidence,
because the blur before frame 210, from 190 to 200, is clearly much larger than
any blur after frame 210. In fact, there is really very little evidence for a blur in the
appropriate amount of time after frame 210.

Furthermore, there is some photo evidence that tends to support the thought of a
shot in the time frame shortly before 190. For example, there is the Phillip Willis
photograph which shows Mr. Zapruder in the background and the motorcade
passing in between. Because the motorcade is in between, it is quite possible
quite easy, to determine exactly which Zapruder frame that corresponds to,
because you can tell which part of the motorcade is passing between Zapruder
and Willis. And Willis said that he took that photograph as a reaction. He pressed
the shutter as a reaction to what he perceived as the first shot, at least a shot.

Well, it turns out that, that frame is 202. So that means that Mr. Willis is telling us
that he pressed the shutter as part of his reaction to a shot, and he was reacting
at frame 202, while here we see that Mr. Zapruder is in the middle of his reaction
at frame 202. So that is very nice consistent evidence that something happened,
say, at 190 or shortly before 190. (2 HSCA 15)

Years before the HSCA photographic experts recognized that JFK was hit at around Z190, Don Olson and Ralph Turner identified most of the same indications of a wound reaction soon after this shot that the HSCA experts saw. In a paper titled “Photographic Evidence and the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy,” published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences in October 1971, Olson and Turner concluded that JFK begins to react to a shot in Z194 and that this reaction continues until he disappears behind the freeway sign. Olson was a professor of physics at the University of California, while Turner was a professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University. I quote from their analysis:

First, a general trend in the frames 194 to 206 may be noted. Beginning as early as
frame 194, the President's body seems to undergo a motion forward and to the left.
This motion, which can be visually approximated to be on the order of six or seven inches,
seems to begin in frame 194 and continues through about frame 200. The President
seems to move away from the seat back and tilt to the left, away from the window ledge. . . .

On the interval 194-200 the President's body is seen to narrow somewhat to the view,
indicating that he not only leans to the left front, but also is rotated to the left. The rotation
of the shoulders begins as early as frame 195. His head comes around at 200-202. By
frame 204 the President is facing almost directly forward.

As the President moves and rotates to the left, his right arm is pulled back into the car.
While his elbow has been resting outside the car, it comes up noticeably at frame 195. The
President’s elbow can be seen to cross the chrome strip on the side of the car at frames 198-199.
As President Kennedy disappears from view behind the sign, his right arm seems to be in a
particularly unusual position—the clearly visible gray of his suit coat indicating that his
right arm and elbow have been raised at least to the level of his chin. (pp. 410-411)

It is worth repeating that even some of the WC's experts recognized that JFK begins to show wound-reaction signs from Z199-207. The 4/22/64 WC memorandum reports that when a group of wound ballistics experts, the autopsy doctors, and Commission staffers reviewed the Zapruder film frame by frame, with the aid of enlargements, they noted that JFK shows signs of a wound reaction as early as Z199 and by Z204-205:

The reaction shown in frames 224-225 may have started at an earlier point--possibly as early
as frame 199 (where there appears to be some jerkiness in his [JFK's] movement) or, with a
higher degree of possibility, at frames 204-205 (where his right elbow appears to be raised to
an artificially high position). (WC memo, 4/22/64, p. 1)

It should be noted that this group included Dr. F. W. Light, the deputy chief of the Biophysics Division at Edgewood Arsenal, and Dr. Alfred G. Olivier, the chief of the Wound Ballistics Branch of the Biophysics Division at Edgewood Arsenal. The fact that these experts recognized unusual movements by JFK starting at Z199 is significant. The HSCA PEP noticed the same unusual movements and concluded JFK was hit by Z190. Olson and Turner also spotted these movements and concluded JFK was hit before Z194.

Moreover, the Z189-197 blur episode is one of the strongest blur episodes in the Zapruder film.

But, WC apologists must reject the compelling evidence of the Z186-190 shot because it destroys the Z224-lapel-flip SBT and because the shot was fired when their alleged assassin's view of the limo would have been obstructed by the oak tree.

[Benjamin Cole]

MTG==

Nice post.

I have long thought JFK was shot just before or as he crossed behind the Stemmons Freeway sign (as seen by the Z-film perspective). Perhaps ~Z-209.

But human reaction time varies. Maybe JFK was shot a few frames earlier than I think.

The Z-film moves at 18 frames a second. Only a half second separates Z-209 from Z-200.

For me, the big takeaway is that Gov. JBC appears to be shot ~Z-295.

Then JFK at Z-313. I am told not to use the phrase "single-shot bolt-action rifle."

Still, the sequence between the second and third shots on 11/22 was to brief to have been accomplished by a bolt-action Mannlicher Carcano.

I also believe nothing in LFIE magazine printed about the JFKA in the 1960s.

No, LIFE was likely not a part if the conspiracy, or maybe even of the official cover-up.

Think about the Trump and Kirk assassinations, and how warped the coverage is. Ideology and agenda partisan pissing top the truth.

I do not believe CNN and MSNBC or the NYT and WaPo are part of a cover-up of the Kirk assassination.

But they will lean on the facts hard and heavy. Sully Kirk's reputation, and sanitize the background of his assassin.

Vice-versa over at Fox.

[Michael T. Griffith]

MTG==

Nice post. I have long thought JFK was shot just before or as he crossed behind the Stemmons Freeway sign (as seen by the Z-film perspective). Perhaps ~Z-209. But human reaction time varies. Maybe JFK was shot a few frames earlier than I think. The Z-film moves at 18 frames a second. Only a half second separates Z-209 from Z-200.

I think two key indicators are (1) at right around Z200, JFK's waving motion suddenly freezes and starts the action of bringing his hands up toward his throat, and (2) at Z202-204, Jackie starts to rapidly turn her head to the right to look at JFK. Also, the Z189-197 blur episode is one of the strongest blur events in the Zapruder film, indicating the shot was fired around Z186.

For me, the big takeaway is that Gov. JBC appears to be shot ~Z-295.

Then JFK at Z-313. I am told not to use the phrase "single-shot bolt-action rifle."

Still, the sequence between the second and third shots on 11/22 was to brief to have been accomplished by a bolt-action Mannlicher Carcano.

Interestingly, a large number of witnesses said two of the shots came right on top of each other, with virtually no interval. This is confirmed by the acoustical evidence.

I also believe nothing in LIFE magazine printed about the JFKA in the 1960s. No, LIFE was likely not a part if the conspiracy, or maybe even of the official cover-up.

Assigning blame to an entire magazine staff is tricky, but the Life editors who claimed that the Zapruder film showed JFK turning nearly all the way around to look backward surely knew the film shows no such event. They were trying to explain how a bullet could have hit JFK in the throat. They said this shortly after the assassination before the feds decided that they could not admit that the throat wound was an entrance wound.

Think about the Trump and Kirk assassinations, and how warped the coverage is. Ideology and agenda partisan pissing top the truth. I do not believe CNN and MSNBC or the NYT and WaPo are part of a cover-up of the Kirk assassination. But they will lean on the facts hard and heavy. Sully Kirk's reputation, and sanitize the background of his assassin. Vice-versa over at Fox.

I agree. This is a good example of how a number of people will help spread a false narrative for personal or ideological reasons without being part of an organized plot.