Lattimer bullshit
288
OUTSIDE CONTACT REPORT
Type of Contact: Telephone X Person
Ii . Summary of Contact:
.Tnhrt r~tt ;;~°r
KENNEDY
I . Identifying Information :
Name Dr . John Lattimer -- Telephone
QUG133
DATE 2/27/78 TIME 2 :30
AddressColumbia Presbyterian Hospital, New York City
Dr . Michael Baden, Mark Flanagan and Andy Purdy
lpP°d nriv-t 1'd° d (hrif) f'1 t Lion by-Dr.
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Dr lattimer'c pracentation rlid not, clpviate from
the substance _ __ _ __ e eed; al . brief
and depicted 2XL;eri~.n+= h° had done firing Mannlicher-Carcano
ammunition at filled skulls In his test firings (at least
those depicted) the skull went backward and to the left .
In addition to his review of the autopsy photos and
X-rays, he has done repeated test firings of similar Mannlicher-
Carcano ammunition . He believes the ammunition and rifle are
exceedingly accurate and reliable . He pos tulates that the
first shot occurred at Zapruder frame (7,)166 and was a miss
III . Recommended Follow-up (if any) :
289
deflected by a tree which broke up and/or imbedded itself in
the street pavement . He believes the second shot occurred at
about Z-220 and struck the President in the upper back, passing
through him near the spine . Lattimer attributes the President's
reaction (raising his arms coming from behind the sign) to an
involuntary physical response caused by the shock to the spine
(he cites "Cases of Injury to the Cervical Region of the Spinal
Cord," 1889, by William Thornburn) . He believes this second bullet
caused the wounds to Kennedy and Connally . He indicated that the
bullet which injured Connally "must" have passed through Kennedy
first or the bullet would have had so much force that it would
have passed through Connally's thigh (he believes the fragment was
in Connally's femur) . He said the "3 cm" wound in the thigh
indicated a tumbling bullet, i .e ., one which struck something else
first (either JFK or a tree limb; latter not in alleged line of
fire at Z-220) . Asked hypothetically what inferences could be
drawn if the Connally back wound was 1 .5 cm, Lattimer said the
bullet would have been tumbling . Lattimer said the only other
cause of an elongated entrance wound would be a tangential bullet
strike ; however, he said a tangent strike on Connally would have
caused horizontal elongation instead of the vertical elongation
present on Connally . Lattimer's theory of 3 shots (with the first
missing and burrowing into the pavement) accounts for the curb
shot on the theory that it was a fragment from the head shot.
Lattimer has done no testing of bullet deflection by
hitting trees ; or of burrowing into pavement by such ammunition;
or of simulation of the deceleration of a bullet which passed only
through Connally to see if it would necessarily penetrate Connally's
thigh .
290
Regarding his assertion that the vertical slit in
JFK's shirt was because the bullet left him tumbling (and not
merely characteristic of a bullet exit), Lattimer said he had
neither seen nor done testing of this phenomenon
Lattimer said there was an irregularity of bone in
the vicinity of the transverse process which he believes represents
generally that a missile passed through the area and,
specifically, that there was a fracture of C-6 or C-7 .
Lattimer believes the "single bullet" struck Connally's
rib (as opposed to a "slap wound"), flattening the bullet scraping
off a piece of lead which he believes is visible in the Connally
chest X- ray.
Lattimer believes the wrist wound was caused by a slowly
traveling bullet because of the nature of the wrist damage (much
less severe than if a bullet had hit it first) and the minimal
fragment displacement evident .
Regarding the Edgewood Arsenal testing, he said the
simulation of the head shot was very similar to the damage he noted
in JFK upon viewing the autopsy photos and X-rays . However, he
said they incorrectly used the autopsy doctors' figure for the
location of the head entry wound, which is about 4" lower than the
wound as seen in the photos and verified in the X-rays . He expressed
mild surprise that the incorrect entrance wound point still
resulted in approximate skull damage .
Connally wound characteristics which indicated to
Lattimer that the bullet struck something else include (in
summary) : elongation of entrance wound ; Connally's wrist "was
291
only in position" to be struck at time of JFK wound ; Connally
was seated directly in front of JFK ; the bullet which struck the
thigh would have shattered it if it hadn't been significantly
slowed by tumbling .
Lattimer said he doubted that a fragment from the
JFK head shot could have wounded Connally's wrist because the
too w damage was caused by a fragment ofA substantial^size to have
caused the extent of damage evident in the X-ray .
Dr . Lattimer indicated that he has spoken to the autopsy
surgeon, but doesn't have interview notes or transcripts . He
does not have an explanation for the discrepancy in the location
of the entrance wound in the rear of 'the head, believing it resulted
from poor measurement techniques by individuals not sufficiently
schooled or experienced in forensic pathology . He believes the
autopsy doctors would realize their mistake upon reviewing the
photos and X-rays .
Dr . Lattimer also stated that he spoke to Dr. Gregory
(Governor Connally's wrist surgeon) several times about the nature
of the damage in the wrist . Dr . Gregory is deceased .
On other subjects Lattimer said: He knows the generic
origin of the rifle strap used by LHO ; LHO practiced dry-firing his
rifle according to Marina ; Ruby's pistol had a metal shroud covering
the hammer to facilitate its being fired from within a pocket or
under clothing (he showed a photo which purported to be of Ruby's
gun) ; and Ruby's psychiatrist (Bromberg) told him Ruby had his
pistol with him earlier in the weekend at the police station .
Dr. Lattimer also suspects that Ruby fired his pistol
using his middle finger as a trigger finger .
Lattimer says that
this allows the index finger to steady the barrel, and is an
indication of familiarity in firing weapons .