Nick McDonald

A few minutes after President John F. Kennedy was shot on Nov. 22, 1963, Dallas Police Officer Maurice “Nick” McDonald arrived at Dealey Plaza. He and several other officers received a tip about a suspicious man who had snuck into the Texas Theater without paying for his movie.
McDonald and the other officers entered the rear of the darkened movie theater to search for their suspect. Lee Harvey Oswald was sitting in the audience.
When McDonald confronted him, Oswald said, “Well, it’s all over now.” But as McDonald tried to search and cuff him, Oswald stood and punched the officer right between the eyes. The blow so was powerful it knocked McDonald’s hat off his head.
Oswald then used his right hand to shove a gun into the officer’s stomach. Just as Oswald pulled the trigger, McDonald jammed his hand into the firing mechanism. The gun’s hammer snapped against the flesh of his hand, but the bullet didn’t fire. In response, McDonald hit Oswald and fought for control of the weapon. Several other officers grabbed the assassin and placed him under arrest.
Oswald was linked to the Kennedy assassination later that day. While in police custody on Nov. 24, 1963, he was shot to death on live television by nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Oswald was also suspected in the murder of Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit, who was killed shortly after the president was shot. Tippit was McDonald’s lockermate.
Born in Camden, Ark., McDonald graduated from high school and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served during the Korean War before joining the Dallas Police Department in 1955. McDonald remained on the force for 25 years, but capturing President Kennedy’s killer was his most memorable case. He later chronicled the event in his memoir, “The Arrest and Capture of Lee Harvey Oswald.”
McDonald died on Jan. 27 of complications from diabetes. He was 76.