Transcription of the recorded statement of Harold S. Reid conducted by the Commission on KSU Violence.

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[Harold Reid]: 4688 East 174th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. My telephone number is 587-0905. I wish to make a statement of the incident May the 4th over by Taylor Hall. On that morning, noon, I was walking from Bowman Hall, en route to the Education Building. As I walked between Lake and Johnson Hall, I observed the National Guardsmen firing tear gas from the top of the hill into a crowd of people who were standing at the foot of the hill. The National Guardsmen moved down to the foot of the hill, which is the old football practice field, and turned in the direction of Prentice Hall, and started firing tear gas on the crowd that was standing on the parking lot adjacent to Prentice Hall. At that time, most of the spectators that were standing over by Taylor Hall moved on to the street. I also moved in that direction. Shortly afterward, the National Guardsmen turned around and started moving back up the hill in the direction of Taylor Hall. As they moved towards the spectators, the spectators opened the way for them and the crowd that had been dispersed over by Prentice Hall moved behind them. There appeared to have been four or five throwing rocks. The rest of the crowd seemed to have been lagging behind, mostly applauding. When the National Guardsmen reached the top of the hill up by Taylor Hall, they turned around and opened fire. I was in the street at the foot of the hill from Taylor Hall and I hit the ground but I kept my head up above the briefcase I was carrying.

At that time I observed a young white male wearing a gas mask and a camera around his neck, holding a revolver–pointing a revolver, may I say, in the direction of a person, perhaps male, lying on the ground. I hollered for this person to stop. He turned around and saw me and started running. I chased him to the top of the hill, hollering for the crowd ahead to stop him. As I reached the top of the hill, Mr. William Barrett, the editor with the University Alumni publication, joined me in pursuing this person. The person pursued ran to a second crowd. Perhaps as he was running down the hill, we hollered ahead for someone to stop him and four or five people stood in front of him and at that time he pulled out the revolver again and drew it on the four or five who were standing in front of him. He ran to the second crowd that was standing behind Johnson Hall, and he pulled off his gas mask. [Mr. Bill Knoll?], one of my former [counselees?] in Dunbar Hall recognized my chasing this person, so he pointed the person out to us in the second crowd. This person saw us pursuing him so he started running again. This time he ran to the cordoned off area where the National Guardsmen and the policemen were standing. We ran up to the rope and were stopped by the policemen and the National Guardsmen. This person ran behind the policemen and National Guardsmen and joined a crowd of other folks who appeared to have been newsmen. At that time I recognized one of the campus security officers by name. And this person was named Mr. Harold Rice. I told him in a very loud tone that this person was carrying a revolver. At that time, Officer Harold Rice looked under this person coat and there was a revolver. This is all I have to say.

Since the machine was not warmed up at the beginning of the tape, I will give my name and address. My name is Harold Sherman Reid. I am a staff member here at the University and graduate student. My address is 4688 East 174th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, and my telephone number is 587-0905. My office telephone number is 672-2642. And as an addition to the previous statement, a written statement was also made with the campus policemen in regard to this matter.