The Dallas Police Department is entrenched with history. One of the most historic events that impacted the police department was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged shooter, fled from the Texas School Book Depository Building to his Oak Cliff neighborhood. There, he was approached by Officer J.D. Tippit. Oswald shot and killed Officer Tippit . Corporal Ray Hawkins was in the area as officers were dispatched  to look for the suspect who shot Officer Tippit. Corporal Hawkins responded and drove by 10th and Patton then converged on the Texas Theater when information came out that the suspect may have entered the theater.  Corporal Hawkins and his cover squads met a witness at the back door of the Texas Theater.  Upon entering, they conducted a row-by-row search. As officers neared Oswald, he jumped up and pulled out a pistol. Officers subdued Oswald after a struggle. Corporal Ray Hawkins went down in history as the officer who handcuffed Lee Harvey Oswald.  The rest as they say is history. Officer Hawkins, 83, died of Monday, November 16, 2015, at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Hawkins’ badge #887 served the department for 29 years, he retired in 1982.

His daughters Kathy Hawkins and Karen Hawkins Ayala, stopped by Dallas Police Headquarters to talk about their dad and how he is remembered in their lives and in history. Please see the video. Thank you Corporal Ray Hawkins for your service.