Had we gone out of the other door, we would have had to go through a hallway.
Mr. Hubert. What was your concern about the news media being on the main ramp and not behind the rail?
Captain Fritz. Well, they interfered with our movement upstairs each time we took Oswald to and from the jail, they would holler at him and ask questions and say things to him that would have a tendency to, I thought, aggravate him. I think part of it he seemed to enjoy, and part of it he seemed to be irritated about.
Mr. Hubert. Was your concern about the news media?
Captain Fritz. My concern was to do all I could to prevent a killing or an escape.
Mr. Hubert. Was your concern about the news media not being on the outside of the rail, or was it concerned with fear of Oswald’s safety, or simply that these people were in the way?
Captain Fritz. Both. They were in the way, and anyone that hindered us or held us up could cause something to happen there.
We wouldn’t have been taking all those precautions if we hadn’t been afraid something might happen.
I had even thought of the possibility of someone trying to take the prisoner. That was the reason we handcuffed him to an officer.
In a case as serious as that, we certainly didn’t want to lose him after a thing as serious as having had the President shot.