Wednesday, August 14, 2013

CHP OFFICER JAMES PURSELL - INTERVIEW

Here is a raw, uncut, interview of CHP Officer James Pursell.  He is the CHP Officer involved in the final arrest of the Manson Family at Barker Ranch in October, 1969.

I have no information on who conducted the interview or when, but I'm guessing about 1995 from a date at the beginning of the tape.  It appears it was done in Bishop, California by something he stated during the interview.

As I said, this is raw and uncut footage - the first 18 minutes are photographs of the raid....you can skip forward to 18:19 to watch the actual interview.  Unfortunately it cuts off at 54 minutes, just before the raid-- that's all there is...but all in all I found it interesting.....enjoy...



You can read more about Officer Pursell and the Barker Ranch Raid here:

http://www.lamag.com/features/2009/07/01/manson-an-oral-history1/page/4

30 comments:

LynyrdSkynyrdBand said...

Thanks Kimchi!

LynyrdSkynyrdBand said...

May I suggest to everyone, skipping immediately to the 18 minute & 19 second point (where the actual interview begins).

That first 18 minutes, is pretty brutal. LOL

Kimchi said...

My pleasure Lynyrd!

Living in California so long I take for granted everyone knows what a CHP is..

It's the California Highway Patrol, equal to the State Police...

Remember CHiPs? LOL What a goofy show.

LynyrdSkynyrdBand said...

Are you referring to officers "Ponch" and "John"? LOL!

LynyrdSkynyrdBand said...

Those gold outfits were ridiculous.

They looked like "The Village People". LOL

Kimchi said...

Yeah Lynyrd, "Ponch and Jon"...

I actually watched them filming on the 210 freeway, the two guys on their bikes were actually on a trailer being hauled down the freeway with a camera on the pick up...bet they felt like real jerks being filmed like that...lol

MrPoirot said...

That is a fascinating interview. Purcell said he and another cop suspected the desert hippies were involved in the Tate murders before the Barker Ranch raid was carried out.
He also said that because the local sheriff refused to believe the Jesus car theft ring story that they decided to leave the sheriff's office out of the raid that ending up capturing the most famous criminal of the 20th century. Did I hear that right? I thought Dep Don Ward was involved in the raid.
The article said the Michigan loader was left blocking a desert road. I had for years assumed it was parked off the road after a routine day of road maintenance.
Purcell also revealed that Crockett and Poston thought Charlie had shot Purcell and the other lawman with a shotgun. I wonder what Charlie fired those two shots at?

Kimchi said...

Mr. Poirot said:

"He also said that because the local sheriff refused to believe the Jesus car theft ring story that they decided to leave the sheriff's office out of the raid that ending up capturing the most famous criminal of the 20th century. Did I hear that right?"

Yes, the old man, the Sheriff of Inyo County thought it was nothing to be concerned about...

"I wonder what Charlie fired those two shots at?"

I read somewhere, don't remember where, those were warning shots to members of the family...an internal thing...

sunset77 said...

Wikipedia says CHiPs used Kawasaki KZ 900P for the first two seasons. I knew of 2 Kawasakis when I was a kid, they both broke down all the time and I pushed them more than I rode them.

Their TV commercial jingle has been stuck in my head since about 1972 Let the Good Times Roll!!.

MrPoirot said...

In WWII Kawasaki made the only Jap fighter that could fly up to where our B 29s flew.
I had a 82 KZ1000J that was a jet. The thing I liked about it most was when I was in the Blue Ridge mtns riding up and down those 6000 foot peaks I could just put it in 3rd gear and leave it. Any other engine would have you shifting gears all day. Mad Max used the KZs.

MrPoirot said...

BTW Sunset, did you hear that Robbie Knevel got a DUI at Sturgis? He rammed his RV into another RV in the campground.

Doc Sierra said...

LynyrdSkynyrdBand said...

Those gold outfits were ridiculous.

They looked like "The Village People". LOL
---------------------------
I used to be the roadie for the Village People.
My job was pretty easy. Mostly going down the check list. You know, boots, boots, boots, boots, mocassins.....
One time the equipment truck got stolen an hour before the show. I almost panicked. I had less than an hour to come up with five tambourines. You talk about stress? Sheesh........

sunset77 said...

I heard Robbie Kneivel got a DUI, I didn't read the details of it. I think I read Earnhardt's grandson got a DUI the other day.

I had a 1980 Honda CB-900C for about 25 years, it was the best friend I ever had. Air shocks, shaft drive, inline 4, DOHC, hi-low range transmission giving basically 10 speeds. I should have kept it, traded it on my current GL 1500 Goldwing.

I seen a B-29 (the Enola Gay) hanging in the Udvar Hazy museum near Dulles in DC. It dropped an A-bomb on Hiroshima Japan.

MrPoirot said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MrPoirot said...

Sunset one thing I always thought was odd is that Manson supposedly rode motorcycles but their are no fotos of him on one.
I have read that he never rode a bicycle. You can't ride a motorcycle if you never rode a bicycle.

Venus said...

I loved watching Ponch and Jon. Ah, memories. Wal-Mart has the 1st season DVD collection, I think I'll have to buy it!

I had a cousin who looked like a younger version of Larry Wilcox (Jon). The resemblance was uncanny. He could've played his younger brother. He was killed in a car accident at the age of 21.

MrPoirot said...

I think Charlie rode a three wheeler. I don't think he could ride a two wheel Harley. There was a three wheeler at Spahns.

AustinAnn74 said...

Always wondered which females were the ones that were nude. I guess that clears one up: Squeaky Fromme. Wouldn't she have gotten burned from her being a red head? That Death Valley sun can be brutal, especially for someone with that kind of complexion!

CarolMR said...

How horrible about your cousin, Venus. So sorry.

CarolMR said...

How horrible about your cousin, Venus. So sorry.

sunset77 said...

About the only account of Manson ever riding a motorcycle I know of, is when Neil Young gave him kind of a broken down Harley. I think Manson crashed it into the window of a bakery the first time he rode it. I think I read that Manson wanted dune buggies because he didn't think motorcycles could handle Goler Wash, I suspect however he wanted dune buggies because he didn't know how to operate a motorcycle.

I just finished watching the interview vid of this post. Apparently at some point Squeaky was nude, and at around the 40:50 mark of the vid, Pursell said they told him they were a girl scout troop from the bay area. I wonder how common it was to run across naked girl scouts in the dessert? I don't remember any around here selling cookies.

Venus said...

Thanks Carol! That was almost 27 years ago, hard to believe!

MrPoirot said...

I remember that now Sunset. Charlie crashed the bike into a plate glass store window. The owner was a baker or something. He was screaming at Charlie.

That is a good example of Charlie probably not being able to ride a two wheel cycle. At 5-2 it had to be tough to ride a 550lb sportster. Even harder to kick start the damn thing.

I think Charlie kinda kept it quiet that he couldn't ride a motorcycle. Ego you know? His ego wasn't as dead as he made out.

MrPoirot said...

I remember that now Sunset. Charlie crashed the bike into a plate glass store window. The owner was a baker or something. He was screaming at Charlie.

That is a good example of Charlie probably not being able to ride a two wheel cycle. At 5-2 it had to be tough to ride a 550lb sportster. Even harder to kick start the damn thing.

I think Charlie kinda kept it quiet that he couldn't ride a motorcycle. Ego you know? His ego wasn't as dead as he made out.

Doc Sierra said...

MrPoirot said...
That is a good example of Charlie probably not being able to ride a two wheel cycle. At 5-2 it had to be tough to ride a 550lb sportster. Even harder to kick start the damn thing.
---------------------------------
The club I was in had a guy with really short legs. At stop lights he had to rock the bike left and right because he couldn't touch both boots on the road at the same time. Nothing against short guys but this guy also couldn't ride worth beans just like the Chuckster.

MrPoirot said...

Harleys back then would kickback real bad sometimes when you were kickstarting them. People even broke their legs kickstarting motorcycles. A little guy like Charlie could have gotten launched like a rocket by a kickback.

MrPoirot said...

I remember seeing guys with big blue whelps on their shin from kickbacks.

sbuch113 said...

Large commercial movie camera, making a movie, rituals, white robes and Jesus.

Thanks.......

Britishrider said...

Are you sure it was a Harley? I found the same Booking sheets on here, but clearer. It shows the Harley seized during the raid (Released to owner).

Britishrider said...

Are you sure it was a Harley? I found the same Booking sheets on here, but clearer. It shows the Harley seized during the raid (Released to owner).