Welcome to JFK in The Enduring Secret.

I'm your host, Jeff Crudell. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the podcast.

Episode 8 today is about Roger Dean Craig.

Roger Dean Craig, at the time of the assassination, worked for the Dallas County Sheriff's Office as a civil warrant officer.

Roger received the Man of the Year award in 1960 for law enforcement for recognition of outstanding performance in the line of duty.

At the time of the assassination, he was a well-liked and well-respected member of the Dallas

Law Enforcement Community. Roger was in the Dallas County Sheriff's Office the morning of the

assassination. Back in 1963, the Sheriff's Office was located at 505 Main Street, inside of City Hall,

and it was close to the corner of

Main Street in Houston, where the motorcade would make its right turn and enter Delea Plaza.

A couple of hours before the scheduled arrival of the president in Dele Plaza,

Sheriff Bill Decker had gathered the plainclosed officers and detectives from the Sheriff's Department

who were on assigned street duty at the time, and he made it clear to all of them that they were not to take part in the security of the President's motorcade.

Decker emphasized that the Sheriff's Office personnel were to be merely spectators that day, and nothing more.

To Roger, that seemed like an unusual statement and an unusual request from Sheriff Decker.

One thing that was noticeable to Roger that morning was the crowds that were already gathering

and getting larger around the sheriff's office.

And yet, there was a minimal number of Dallas police officers present in and around that part

of Main Street.

Now, before we get too suspicious, you have to appreciate that the sheriff's office jurisdiction

was Dallas County, and they were separate and distinct from the

city of Dallas. Dallas also had its own police department. It was not uncommon to occasionally have

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