From their vantage point of 50/60 feet away, the three teenagers (Robbins children) described the suspect to the police dispatcher as a "WMA, in his early forties, 5'8'', heavy build, reddish-blond "crew-cut" hair, wearing eyeglasses, dark brown trousers, dark (navy blue or black) "Parka" jacket, dark shoes". The claim has always been that crossed wires occurred and Officer Donald Fouke was given the description of a negro male adult before, and as he began his one minute journey westwards from the intersection of Washington Street & Presidio Avenue to the intersection of Jackson & Maple Streets, where Officer Donald Fouke first noticed the Zodiac Killer. Therefore, the dispatcher had at least one minute to relay the description of the man to Officer Fouke.
What the police want you to believe is that he drove by the white man on Jackson Street because he was given a description of a negro male adult. So in the minute that Officer Fouke drove the distance before encountering the man, are we to conclude that the dispatcher only relayed "be on the lookout for a negro male adult" and nothing more? The description of the perpetrator given a month later by Officer Fouke was almost identical to the description given by the teenagers. We had "early forties" and "35-45 years", "heavy build" and "medium heavy build", "reddish blond crew cut hair" and "light colored hair in a crew cut", "dark (navy blue or black) Parka jacket" and "dark blue waist length zipper type jacket (navy or royal blue)", "dark brown trousers" and "brown wool pants", with both wearing glasses.
Despite the fact that his description of the subject on Jackson Street virtually matched the description given by the three teenagers to the dispatcher, I doubt many negro male adults in 1969 had a reddish blond or light colored crew cut. If we are to believe the event-changing story of Officer Fouke being furnished with a description of a negro male adult, why did neither the dispatcher or Officer Fouke not question the description of the negro male adult having reddish blond hair? Even without the description of the hair, everything else was close enough to have warranted stoppiing the white male on Jackson Street.
What the police want you to believe is that he drove by the white man on Jackson Street because he was given a description of a negro male adult. So in the minute that Officer Fouke drove the distance before encountering the man, are we to conclude that the dispatcher only relayed "be on the lookout for a negro male adult" and nothing more? The description of the perpetrator given a month later by Officer Fouke was almost identical to the description given by the teenagers. We had "early forties" and "35-45 years", "heavy build" and "medium heavy build", "reddish blond crew cut hair" and "light colored hair in a crew cut", "dark (navy blue or black) Parka jacket" and "dark blue waist length zipper type jacket (navy or royal blue)", "dark brown trousers" and "brown wool pants", with both wearing glasses.
Despite the fact that his description of the subject on Jackson Street virtually matched the description given by the three teenagers to the dispatcher, I doubt many negro male adults in 1969 had a reddish blond or light colored crew cut. If we are to believe the event-changing story of Officer Fouke being furnished with a description of a negro male adult, why did neither the dispatcher or Officer Fouke not question the description of the negro male adult having reddish blond hair? Even without the description of the hair, everything else was close enough to have warranted stoppiing the white male on Jackson Street.
Click image to see memorandum The duty of a dispatcher is to gather information from the caller and relay the relevant details to responding officers, which in this case would have been a basic description of the person seen leaving the tacicab of Paul Stine. Are we to believe that Officer Fouke, on the lookout for a negro male adult, required him to slow down to such an extent that he was able to describe brown wool pants that were baggy in the rear, hair that was possibly graying in the rear, pants that were pleated, a waist band that was zipped part way up, elastic cuffs and low cut shoes, despite the obvious fact the subject was white. The color of the subject's skin should have been apparent from a reasonable distance away, making any further scrutiny unnecessary.
Once Officer Fouke had determined the man was white, there was no need to examine this man from top to bottom, and then make a note of his posterior features. He was responding to an assault and robbery on a taxicab driver and his primary motivation should have been to head to the crime scene. However, if he was really looking for a white man when he approached Jackson Street, then this amount of detail would be understandable - especially if he stopped the subject and was informed of a "man waving a gun" up the street.
Once Officer Fouke had determined the man was white, there was no need to examine this man from top to bottom, and then make a note of his posterior features. He was responding to an assault and robbery on a taxicab driver and his primary motivation should have been to head to the crime scene. However, if he was really looking for a white man when he approached Jackson Street, then this amount of detail would be understandable - especially if he stopped the subject and was informed of a "man waving a gun" up the street.
Probably the biggest curiosity in the November 12th 1969 Donald Fouke memorandum was the final line, stating "My partner that night was Officer E. Zelms # 2348 of Richmond station. I do not know if he observed this subject or not". The only way Eric Zelms could have failed to notice the white male walking on Jackson Street, is if Eric Zelms was riding in the trunk or was asleep. If Donald Fouke was able to capture all that information about the subject while driving a vehicle and positioned further from the sidewalk than Eric Zelms, then one has to question the honesty of that statement.
Both officers were approaching a crime scene with reports of a man leaving the intersection of Washington & Cherry and heading north up Cherry Street. They would have been scouring the sidewalks for any potential suspects heading their way, not looking at the sky for potential hang gliders. If Donald Fouke was really responsible for the entirety of that memorandum, it is not only strange that he was totally oblivious to what Eric Zelms saw that night after one month had elapsed, but it would suggest that Eric Zelms played no part in the description given. The later claim that Eric Zelms admitted to stopping the Zodiac Killer on October 11th 1969 is evident by the contrived memorandum, designed by individuals above the pay grade of Officer Fouke to paint a completely different picture of the events that unfolded on Jackson Street that night. There is little reason to believe a negro male adult ever passed the lips of any person on October 11th 1969, and every reason to believe that Officer Fouke was coerced into putting his signature to a memorandum to refute the writings of Zodiac, who had just claimed he was stopped and let go that night.
Both officers were approaching a crime scene with reports of a man leaving the intersection of Washington & Cherry and heading north up Cherry Street. They would have been scouring the sidewalks for any potential suspects heading their way, not looking at the sky for potential hang gliders. If Donald Fouke was really responsible for the entirety of that memorandum, it is not only strange that he was totally oblivious to what Eric Zelms saw that night after one month had elapsed, but it would suggest that Eric Zelms played no part in the description given. The later claim that Eric Zelms admitted to stopping the Zodiac Killer on October 11th 1969 is evident by the contrived memorandum, designed by individuals above the pay grade of Officer Fouke to paint a completely different picture of the events that unfolded on Jackson Street that night. There is little reason to believe a negro male adult ever passed the lips of any person on October 11th 1969, and every reason to believe that Officer Fouke was coerced into putting his signature to a memorandum to refute the writings of Zodiac, who had just claimed he was stopped and let go that night.