An Interview with Gerald Lynn Hill

In 2000, I was in pursuit of identifying the suited individual who is pictured crouching on the south side of Elm Street next to Buddy Walthers and a uniformed Dallas Police Department Supervisor (as evidenced by the white cap) at approximately 12:40 pm, just ten minutes after the shots were fired. The man appears to be picking up an object from the grass. The object allegedly was a spent .45 caliber slug.

My late friend, a retired Officer from the Criminal Intelligence Section of the Dallas Police Department, J. Harrison, referred me to another retired Dallas PD Officer: Gerald Hill.  J told me, “Hill probably knows who the guy is. He knows more about this case than almost anyone because he was everywhere that day, but he won’t talk to anybody about it anymore. I’ll tell him to talk to you.” And so he did talk to me.

Gerald Hill found–was virtually in contact with or very near the vicinity of–every piece of potentially incriminating evidence against Lee Harvey Oswald that day with three exceptions: the pristine bullet allegedly found on a stretcher at Parkland hospital that became known as CE 399, aka: the Magic Bullet; bullet fragments found in the presidential limousine; and the so-called backyard photos in which Oswald is seen posing with a rifle, a holstered pistol, and some propaganda pamphlets.

J. Harrison told me that many of the officers from that day believed, even to this day, the official version of events. I had found that very difficult to swallow, but he assured me it was true. I asked why he himself had no such delusions while so many others did? He replied: “I don’t know exactly. It’s like insanity would overcome them if they believed otherwise. For me it’s the opposite.”

I approached Gerald Hill rather gingerly in this conversation. I didn’t want to spook him nor did I want him to be on guard against a “conspiracy theorist” unnecessarily. However, I also wanted some answers. I decided that if I got the opportunity to nail him down on a few inconsistencies I would not hold back. What I found astounding was his ignorance. It was as though he was completely unfamiliar, not only with recent findings, but also with extremely pertinent evidence from that day, which was a matter of either the public record or common knowledge. The existence of the wound to James Tague is one such item.

I was also taken aback when Hill expressed his disdain, not for JFK, but for Lyndon Johnson. He said:

 

 

Here then is my first contact with former Dallas Police Sergeant, Gerald Lynn Hill. I decided to treat him with deference. I knew I could turn the screws, if needed, at a later date.