Those who knew Jerry Hill said he balanced a large stature and friendly charm.
Hill, 54, retired from the Charleston Police Department as a captain after 27 years of service, and he later became the city's public grounds director, Chief Brent Webster said. Hill died from a medical crisis sometime between Sunday night and early Monday morning.
Whether it was a citizen or a fellow officer, Hill enjoyed interacting with people and offering them help whenever possible, Webster said.
"People, when they talked to him, they knew he had their best interest [at heart]," he said.
Hill worked as a motorcycle officer with the traffic division before he became a supervisor, Webster said. He later became the traffic commander and then a bureau chief.
He also kept in touch with citizens as the department's special events coordinator. Webster said Hill had a tendency to bring compassion and efficiency to the workplace - traits that likely transferred to his recent position with Public Works.
"I don't know how many employees he had over there, but I just can't imagine any of them wouldn't be heartbroken right now," Webster said.
Hill's son, Jonathan, joined the department three years ago and now is serving as a patrolman. The department honored his father Monday morning by having black "mourning drapes" hung above doorways to City Hall and the police department.
"That just something we do out of respect when a police officer dies," Webster said.
Kim Held said she met the Hill family 20 years ago. On Monday, she stood under light raindrops and watched city firefighters install the drapes.
Held said she remembers being stuck at a checkpoint in North Charleston, where an officer asked her seemingly endless questions. That's when Hill appeared.
She said he greeted her dogs, Reese and Gabe, and then helped her through the line. Hill cared just as much about animals as he did humans, Held said.
"I've never flown my flag at half-staff at home, but I think I'm going to," she said.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete on Monday.
Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or @Gsabella on Twitter.