Gerald Hill being interviewed by the press in the Dallas Police Department's headquarters, the evening of Oswald's arrest. 

Gerald Lynn Hill, personally known as Jerry, was perhaps the most omnipresent of all the Dallas Police Department officers involved at the scene of Lee Harvey Oswald's arrest. An officer with the Department since 1955, Hill had left behind a career working in print, radio, and television media in Dallas, only to find his way back into the media as a subject and a witness. Through these media appearances and the richness of his lengthy Warren Commission folder (clocking in at 104 pages), Hill gave a great deal of insight into the events of November 22, 1963, acting as a witness through describing his own active participation. 

Hill is particularly notable for having been present for seemingly every turn of events on that day, making his testimony particularly insightful. Hill was there when the police discovered that the sixth floor of the Texas School Book depository was the site of the so-called "Sniper's Nest," was called to the scene to investigate J.D. Tippit's murder, and had custody of Oswald's .38 pistol immediately following the arrest at the Texas Theater. This ominpresence and impaccable timing makes Hill's ability to testify all the more important; nevertheless, to those more inclined to view the Warren Commission's record with skepticism, Hill's vivid testimony - as well as some of that testimony's inconsistencies with others - begs more questions than it answers. 

A photographer captures the moment Gerald Hill shouts for someone from the crime lab.

Hill describing the moment the boxes of the "Sniper's Nest" were found on the sixth floor in his Warren Commission testimony.

On November 22, 1963, Gerald Hill started his day in the personnel office at the Dallas Police Department headquarters, dressed in plainclothes for the day. He was sifting through applications to the police academy, having no assignment related to President Kennedy's visit. All of this changed in the blink of an eye after he watched the assassination from the personnel room's window; according to his testimony, he got permission from Captain Westbrook to go to the scene of the Texas School Book Depository, bringing along with him officers Joe Field and Jim Valentine and a reporter from the Dallas Morning News, Jim E. Well. 

When he arrived at the scene, he stated that he caught up with Captain Fritz and a variety of other officers; entering the building, he and two sheriff's deputies, Boone and Mooney, worked from the top down, while Fritz and his men worked from the bottom up searching for evidence. After checking the seventh floor and finding nothing, Hill said that someone shouted "Here it is!" upon finding a stack of boxes by a window, and he went on to find three spent shells on the floor. This finding prompted him to go to the window and shout for someone from the Crime Lab - resulting in the photo to the top right. By the time he made it down to street level, someone from the Crime Lab had arrived, and Hill would soon be on his way to the next scene: the scene of Officer J.D. Tippit's murder.

Link to Gerald Hill interview with Bob Whitten

Two of the most interesting files in Hill's Warren Commission folder are a transcription of an interview he granted to Bob Whitten, a radio manager from Sacramento, California, the afternoon of the assassination, and an FBI document pertaining to said interview. It's not surprising that Hill was so willing to speak to the media the day of Oswald's arrest, considering his past career before moving into policing: in his Warren Commission deposition, he talks about working with the Dallas Times Herald and Fort Worth's WPAB TV before joining the police academy, covering policing stories at both outlets. According to the FBI document concerning the interview, Hill had previously known Whitten from when Whitten worked in Dallas radio years before. This connection helped preserve his memories while they were incredibly fresh: the interview was aired in Sacramento at 6:45 pm, mere hours after the day's occurrences.

Hill describes his ascent to the seventh floor of the TSBD with Boone and Mooney, with some details contradicting Mooney's account.

If you google search Gerald Hill, one of the first links to come up is to a conspiracy blog accusing Hill explicitly of framing Lee Harvey Oswald; this is just one of many sources devoted to highlighting Hill's supposedly sketchy behavior, as he seems to be a common scapegoat for plotting. On the topic of Hill's entry to the sixth floor, for example ,the author specifically disputes Hill's claim that he entered the building with sheriff's deputy Luke Mooney. This is because Mooney both reported to the Sheriff and testified to the Warren Commission that he entered through the rear and took a freight elevator to the second floor, as opposed to taking a passenger elevator and walking to the seventh. He also disputes Hill's testimony about the other sheriff's deputy, Boone, who testified that he went to the sixth floor after Mooney found bullet casings, as opposed to them all three being there at the same time. It's at this point that the author uses these discrepancies to accuse Belin of "covering up for Hill's lie!" because of his failure to cross-examine Hill on the matter.

Links to Part 1 and Part 2 of an interview with Gerald Hill circa 1975 - one of many.

Well after the years immediately following the President's assassination, Hill continued to willingly give interviews like the ones linked above to the media and to private researchers - even those who personally found Hill suspicious. His wife, Bobbye, said of him: “He was interviewed forever; every once in a while, we still get a phone call...“He never believed in a conspiracy. He was kind about it. He understood people had a right to think what they wanted to.” Notably, however, Hill did have his own ideas about the motivations behind Jack Ruby's shooting of Oswald: having known Ruby for years like many other officers, he said, "I think his calculating mind was going all the time on the assumption that 'I'll shoot Oswald. Public sentiment will get me off, and then I'll make a million bucks because everybody'll come to see the man that killed the man that killed the President!'" 

Ultimately, Hill's direct insight as a result of actively participating in policing the assassination at every turn, coupled with his willingness to share what he witnessed with others, has left an indelible mark on the collective memory regarding the Kennedy assassination.