In the early morning hours of August 28, 1977, a sense of unease settled over a Des Moines, Iowa neighborhood. Responding to a call of shots fired at the intersection of Thirteenth Street and Mondamin Avenue, 30-year-old White / Caucasian male, Police Officer Dennis Earl Hill, and his partner arrived at a scene that would tragically be his last. A five-year veteran of the Des Moines Police Department, Hill was a married father of two young children and a man whose own father had also served on
the force. He was also a United States Army veteran who had served in Vietnam and the Iowa National Guard.
As Officer Hill and his partner pulled up to the location in their patrol vehicle, they approached the victim of the initial shooting. Unbeknownst to them, the perpetrator was lying in wait, concealed in nearby bushes. Without warning, the suspect opened fire with a shotgun, striking Officer Hill in the head. The ambush was sudden and devastating, a violent end to what began as a routine call. The suspect had reportedly shot two of his companions prior to the officers' arrival after they refused to give him a ride home.
In the chaotic moments that followed the shooting of Officer Hill, a call for an "Officer Down" brought other law enforcement to the scene. A second shootout erupted between the responding officers and the suspect. In this exchange of gunfire, another officer was wounded, but the suspect was fatally shot, bringing a swift and violent conclusion to the tragic events of that morning. While the life of Officer Dennis Earl Hill was cut short, the person responsible did not evade justice.
