Jim Leavelle

Jim Leavelle
In this Pulitzer Prize winning photograph, Leavelle (in light suit) reacts as Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald.
Born
James Robert Leavelle

(1920-08-23)August 23, 1920
DiedAugust 29, 2019(2019-08-29) (aged 99)
OccupationDetective
SpouseTaimi Sanelma Trast (died 2014)
Children2
Military career
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Navy
Service years1939–1942
ConflictsWorld War II
Signature

James Robert Leavelle (August 23, 1920 – August 29, 2019) was a Dallas Police Department homicide detective who, on November 24, 1963, was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was fatally shot by Jack Ruby. Leavelle prominently appeared in films and photographs of the murder, including one that won a Pulitzer Prizetaken just as Ruby shot Oswald.