Article Text

Alexandria police officers gathered in Del Ray on March 22 for the annual cleanup and beautification of Charles W. Hill Park, honoring the last department officer killed in the line of duty.

“History matters,” Lt. Jason Story said. Remembering March 22, 1989, he added, is essential to honoring Corporal Hill and his family.

Hill, a 13-year member of the Alexandria Police Department’s Special Operations Team, had been home playing with his two sons when he was called to a hostage crisis in Old Town.

Jamie Wise, 34, had taken several people hostage in the 300 block of Hopkins Court while attempting to collect a drug debt. After a five-hour standoff, Wise emerged holding a sawed-off shotgun to the head of a teenage hostage.

A police sharpshooter shot Wise, but Wise fired two rounds. One fatally wounded Hill, who had celebrated his 40th birthday just a month earlier. The other severely injured Hill’s partner, Officer Andrew Chelchowski.

Chelchowski later suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder connected to the shooting. He died by suicide in 1993, four years after the incident.

Thirty-six years after Hill’s death, current officers and retirees returned to the park bearing his name. Story said many retirees attended because they had lived through the tragedy and wanted to keep Hill’s sacrifice alive.

Students from Episcopal High School also joined the cleanup.

“We wanted to be here to do something positive in the community and to learn about the service of Officer Hill,” student William Jacoby said.

During the gathering, officers listened to an account of the events that led to Hill’s death and reflected on the sacrifices made by him and his family.