On a tragic night at the end of Memorial Day, Fort Worth police came to the wrong address. Jerry Waller, woken up by his loyal dogs, walked from his kitchen into his garage. Jerry stood blinded by the flashlight of an unknown person behind his house. Jerry put his gun down on the trunk of his car. Officer Hoeppner opened fire. This is the true story. Officer Hoeppner’s story is a lie. The crime scene evidence proves it.
(Warning: This page contains graphic images.)

Police Lie:
Officer Hoeppner stated that he fired “4-5 times” and then Mr. Waller, still holding the gun, “hunched over” so he fired another round and then Mr. Waller went down. Officer Hanlon, conversely, stated that Mr. Waller “went down immediately” after Officer Hoeppner shot him. Officer Hoeppner maintained that Mr. Waller fell on top of the gun.

What the Evidence Shows:
According to the autopsy report, there was a distant shot entry wound to the thumb with exit and re-entry to the index finger (see image below) in the left hand.

• The blood present in the palm of the left hand would have not been possible if holding a gun.
• No blood was on the gun grip at the crime scene.
• The gun did not have damage.

Left hand of Mr. Waller (note bullet entry wound in thumb, index finger)

The following images show a left hand grip of a revolver of similar size and design to the one
owned by Mr. Waller. They illustrate the impossibility of gunshot through thumb and index finger while holding the gun.

Both officers claim that the gun was being held as Jerry Waller fell to his death. The image below shows blood spatter on the right hand that could not have been deposited had Mr. Waller been holding the gun with his right hand.

After reviewing the entire files of the Tarrant County Medical Examiner, the Fort Worth Police Department, and District Attorney’s Office in the Waller case, Ed Hueske has observed that

“. . . the evidence does not support that Mr. Waller had a gun in either hand when the shots were fired that produced the blood spatter on the palmer surface of his (Waller’s) right hand and the bullet entry wounds to the left thumb and index finger.”

These findings have been provided by renowned forensic criminalist and former Assistant Laboratory Director of the Fort Worth Police Department (1974-83), Ed Hueske. Mr. Hueske is a former principal lecturer in criminalistics; Program Coordinator, at University of North Texas; fellow in the American Academy of Forensics Sciences; and a member of the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts.