Chief Stevenson. No, sir; none were visible, not to my knowledge. I could not see any of them. All of the homicide cars are equipped with rifles and shotguns.
Mr. Hubert. Did you have anything to do at all with the arrangements for the obtaining of the armored cars?
Chief Stevenson. No, sir; Chief Batchelor handled that by telephone. He consulted with me on it, but he handled it by telephone.
Mr. Hubert. Were you present in the basement when the armored car arrived?
Chief Stevenson. No, sir.
Mr. Hubert. How long before the actual shooting did you go down to the basement?
Chief Stevenson. The last time, I would say some 5, between 5 and 10 minutes, not over that.
Mr. Hubert. In the plan to transfer Oswald down the elevator to the jail office and in the jail corridor into the automobile waiting on the ramp, was there any arrangement made so that Captain Fritz or others would give a signal or would be given a signal as to when to come through?
Chief Stevenson. I understand—I didn’t hear this—but they called down from upstairs, notified the jail sergeant that they were leaving the third floor, and that the jail elevator sergeant observed the elevator on its downward journey when he was there in the jail office. When the jail elevator door opened, Captain Fritz stepped out, followed by the men with the prisoner.
Mr. Hubert. When you say the man in the jail office followed the elevator down, you mean he followed the lights to show the progress?