Captain Lawrence. Traffic at this particular time. I am in charge of the accident prevention bureau of the Dallas Police Department, but my specific assignment was traffic control for the Presidential motorcade.
Mr. Griffin. Was this a special 1-day assignment that you had?
Captain Lawrence. Well, in this particular case—it was for this particular occasion.
Mr. Griffin. Was there any other person in the department who regularly was concerned with what you call traffic control?
Captain Lawrence. Yes; Capt. R. A. Thompson.
Mr. Griffin. Is there any reason why you handled the traffic control responsibilities for the Presidential motorcade rather than Captain Thompson?
Captain Lawrence. None that I know of; none that I can think of except that Chief Batchelor saw me and said, "I want you to get together with Lieutenant Southard." Lieutenant Southard works for Captain Thompson and we were to use my motorcycle officers and his corner men, so, because of the motorcade part of it, I assume that this was the reason that it was turned over to me. Normally on parade or a special assignment and such, this is under the jurisdiction of Captain Thompson, but because of the escort part of it, I am assuming that this was why it was given to me. I would like to also add that Captain Thompson and I work evenings on alternate Friday and Saturday nights, and I was scheduled to work daytime hours on Friday, November 22, and this may also be a reason I was given this particular assignment. Captain Thompson did work evenings on Friday, November 22, 1963, and Saturday, November 23, 1963.
Mr. Griffin. Had you participated in other traffic control projects in the past?
Captain Lawrence. Yes; I had.
Mr. Griffin. Had you ever been involved in one that involved the President of the United States or any other important official who required special protection?