Roll of Honor
Winchell W. Hills
Incident
Chief of Police Winchell Hills was accidentally killed when a 20-gauge shotgun he was removing from a locker discharged, shooting him in the head.
He was alone in the village hall at 2729 Jackson Avenue when the accident occurred.
Chief Hills had served with the South Chicago Heights Police Department for 7-½ years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, daughter, and two sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-DCAD389A- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Chief of Police Hills gave the South Chicago Heights Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the S. Chicago Heights community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Hills.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Winchell W. Hills is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At South Chicago Heights Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Winchell W. Hills's cause is highlighted.
How Winchell W. Hills Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Winchell W. Hills is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from South Chicago Heights Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
