JFK Assassination Forum

Did James Simmons See Smoke from a Rifle on the Grassy Knoll?



Another one of Mark Lane's witnesses to support his theory that a gunman was firing from the grassy knoll was James Simmons: (page 40 of Rush to Judgment)

In filmed interviews, both James L. Simmons and Richard C. Dodd told me that they had seen smoke near the bushes and trees at the corner of the wooden fence. Simmons said the sound of the shots 'came from the left and in front of us, toward the wooden fence, and there was puff of smoke that came underneath the trees on the embankment.'

Here is what Simmons said in 1964 to the FBI:



Simmons said that "he thought he saw exhaust fumes of smoke near the embankment in front of the Texas School Book Depository," and that "it was his opinion the shots came from the direction of the Texas School Book Depository."


Now, here is what Simmons told Mark Lane in 1966:


LANE. What did you see and what did you hear?


SIMMONS. As the presidential limousine was rounding the curve on Elm Street, there was a loud explosion. At the time I didn't know what it was, but it sounded like a loud firecracker or a gun shot. Ann it sounded like it came form the left and in front of us towards the wooden fence. And there was a puff of smoke that came underneath of the trees on the embankment.


LANE. Where was the puff of smoke Mr. Simmons in relation to the wooden fence?


SIMMONS. It was right directly in front of the wooden fence....


LANE. After you heard the shots and saw the smoke, what did you do?


SIMMONS. I was talkin with Patrolman Foster at the time. And as soon as we heard the shots we ran around to the wooden fence. And when we got there there was no one there. But there was footprints in the mud around the fence, and there was footprints on the wooden two by four railing on the fence.


LANE. Were you questioned by Dallas Police that day?


SIMMONS. Yes, I was.


LANE. Did you give your name to the Dallas Police?


SIMMONS. Yes, I did.


LANE. Did you tell them what you just told me?


SIMMONS. Yes, I did.


LANE. Were you subsequently questioned by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.


SIMMONS. About a month later I was questioned by the FBI.


LANE. Did you tell them what you told me and what you told the Dallas Police?


SIMMONS. Yes, I did.


So, Simmons changes the location of the smoke from "near the embankment in front of the depository" to "underneath the trees on the embankment." Lane doesn't ask him about the change in the location of the smoke, nor does he ask him about whether the smoke was "exhaust fumes."


And Lane doesn't dare tell his readers that Simmons initially thought the shots came from the Texas School Book Depository. In fact, Lane doesn't tell his readers anything about what Simmons said in 1964, although he does provide a footnote to Simmons' statement -- so we know that Lane knew about it.

Your horrid photo analysis continues unabated, I see?

You saw the screencaps I just posted of Harkness and the MC. Those are in fact from the exact Youtube video you keep referring us to.

I'm not the one who is confused.

   What you posted does not show the Darnell footage of the Elm St Extension. That Elm St Extension footage leads directly to your posted still frames. It shows us exactly where "No Glove Cop" and Officer Harkness are. If you are aware of this footage, why are you avoiding it?

    TODD - All you need to do is watch the recently discovered Darnell Film Snippet to see where "No Glove Cop" is positioned inside the railroad yard. Go to YOU TUBE and search - "The Full Darnell Snippet" by - "The JFK Theorist" (23:32 - 23:40). This is not complicated. 

  Bump. The above clearly shows I am talking about, "the dirt road portion of the Elm St Extension". That "dirt road" DEAD ENDS into your outlined bollards. The "No Glove Cop" and Officer Harkness are BOTH on the Elm St Extension when that alleged cop walks between/through the bollards. At this point, the alleged cop and Harkness are physically on the dirt road, and there are no bollards between them. This has consistently been my stated position.

RS: That "dirt road" DEAD ENDS into your outlined bollards

Not true at all. In the Darnell film, the line of cars to the left of the image is clearly seen extending to the west end of the "long house" sitting directly to the east of  Bowers' tower. This fact allows us to locate which spur Darnell, Harkness, and the MC are next to. Any aerial image of the RR yard clearly shows that the road crosses that line of cars and continues on. In fact, the dirt road turns to the north and extends well beyond the E-W tracks and to the northern end of the rail yard.

You need to stop just making things up as you go along.

Again, here is an annotated photo showing the railyard: