Police Officer, Kennedy Assassination Figure. He was the Dallas Police Officer who arrested Lee Harvey Oswald at the Texas Theatre on November 22, 1963. While working crowd control outside the Texas School Book Depository immediately after the shooting of President John F. Kennedy, a radio call came in that patrol officer J.D. Tippit had been shot in Oak Cliff. McDonald was one of several officers who picked up Oswald's trail based on the description of a missing School Book Depository employee and the man believed to have shot Officer Tippit. An employee of the Texas Theatre told McDonald that Oswald might be in the building. During his search of the theatre, Oswald was spotted. Taking care not to tip Oswald off, McDonald approached, slipping down the row to a position directly in front of the suspect. "I was just inches from him and said get on your feet," Officer McDonald later testified before the Warren Commission. Oswald stood and replied, "Well, it's all over now." At that point, Oswald made a fist with his left hand and struck Officer McDonald between his eyes, while reaching for a gun with his right hand. A struggle over the weapon ensued. Officer McDonald grabbed the pistol over the cylinder and both men fell into the theatre seats. "As we fell, I could feel the hammer come back on his pistol, and then it returned. The firing pin on the hammer struck me on the hand between the forefinger and thumb." Lee Harvey Oswald was taken into custody by Officer McDonald a 1:50 p.m. on November 22, 1963. Despite his critical role in the capture of Lee Harvey Oswald, Officer McDonald did not appear in any of the photographs connected with the Presidential assassin. In 1980, Sgt. McDonald retired after 25 years with the Dallas Police Department and moved to Hot Springs, AR. He was often interviewed about the Kennedy assassination and spoke before various police departments and law enforcement agencies about the historical arrest. He died from the complications of diabetes.