Elm Street Slow Down

If you do any amount of nosing around in the neighborhood of JFK assassination books (of which there have been more than 450 published, and the number grows every year), you’ll find that there is an incredible amount of odd little happenings surrounding the whole thing. Some researchers take all these odd little happenings and conclude conspiracy based on the sheer number of strange events. Others take the time to logically explain and refute as many as possible and arrive back at the answers found in the Warren Report. My take on the whole matter fluctuates depending on which type of book I’m reading, but I tend to fall into the “mild” conspiracy fold.

Anyway, I was thumbing through a fairly new book on the assassination titled Ultimate Sacrifice. In a sentence, the authors’ premise is that the mafia, to retaliate for some intense prosecution, did in JFK, knowing it could act with impunity because it was knee-deep involved with a Kennedy-sponsored imminent invasion of Cuba (to take place December 1, 1963, which would have been 9 days after the assassination). The authors hold up newly-revealed evidence pointing to possible aborted assassination attempts in Chicago and Tampa earlier in the month of November, both involving motorcades that were canceled at the last minute, among other things. The book is massive and well-researched and foot-noted. If you’re into this, pick it up.

One item jumped out at me. A lot is made of the fact that as soon as the shots rang out as the motorcade was halfway down Elm Street in Dealey Plaza the limousine slowed down. As it was, it was only driven at 11 mph by Secret Service Agent William Greer, which was in violation of standard policy. But the agent hit the brakes and slowed down after the first shot was heard and after his passengers had begun crying out. Some researchers believe this indicates that the secret service may have been part of a conspiracy. Why did the agent slow down? Wouldn’t it be normal to speed up and get out of the “kill zone” as quickly as possible?

These authors explain this in a way that, interestingly, make a stronger case for conspiracy. So why didn’t Greer speed up after the first rifle shot was heard? Because he thought the shots were coming from his right, from the notorious knoll, and not from behind, the Book Depository where Oswald was. He thought that if he kept driving he’d be driving into the kill zone, not out of it, closer to what would now be known as a second gunman. Of course, this was all just a split second reaction captured on the Zapruder film. A second or two later the limo was accelerating, and soon going 70 mph towards Parkland Hospital, albeit too late.

Interesting take, nonetheless.